not what i expected, but then again, what is?

Rating: 7/10 (24 December 2004)

Spielberg has made so many "oh my god that was so powerful and believable and IMPORTANT" movies, that now he can't make a whimsical bit of fluff without people saying, "Oh my god, that was so unpowerful and inconceivable and TRIVIAL." This movie feels like Catch Me If You Can, and requires a similar amount of suspension of disbelief in order to be enjoyed. Tom Hanks plays a foreign guy who learns to speak English in record time by reading a travel pamphlet. He falls for Catherine Zeta Jones, who is still beautiful as ever, even when playing a stupid, despicable flight attendant.
But watch out for the "evil" airport director! I say airport director, but he should have been referred to throughout the movie as the "final boss," because he seemed more like King Koopa or Sephiroth than a person existing in real life. How do you seriously explain his petty vengeance against Tom Hanks' character? That was the main issue that stuck with me throughout the film. The Evil Airport Director's role as fascist overlord of JFK Airport just didn't jive.
There is also an important plot point near the end that made no sense to me whatsoever. It involves the final trumping of the Evil Overlord via an Indian janitor whose catchphrase, "DO YOU HAVE AN APPOINTMENT?" failed to make the Japanese audience at the theater where I watched Terminal laugh even once. I won't give it away, just watch the movie and then send me an email explaining what the hell happened, because I don't get it.
This is not an important movie. It has no massive revelations or cathartic outpourings of wisdom (although it comes close, in a scene where Evil Final Boss asks Tom Hanks why he wants to enter the US. I half expected Tom to slap himself on the forehead and say, "You're right! Why indeed!" and get on a plane to some country where foreigners DON'T get treated like garbage). But I won't rush to condemn Spielberg for taking a lighthearted prance down Fluffy Fluff Lane for the sake of box office numbers. Spielberg is only human, and he needs his five houses and twelve cars, just like the rest of us.