Entertaining even though unreal

Rating: 6/10 (18 February 2005)

Another enjoyable Tom Hanks movie even though the plot is a typical fairy tale as is often the case in a Hanks' movie. Basically, Hanks, a foreigner, arrives at a New York airport but due to no fault of his own, his passport is revoked but because of a revolution in his home country he cannot be returned. He is not allowed into the US so he is confined to one terminal. One of things that makes this movie unreal is that Hanks can't speak or read English yet the Airport authorities never get an interpreter and talk to him only in English, which is fine for English speaking audiences and doesn't waste time doing translations in the movie but would never happen in real life. The story revolves around his life in the airport terminal and the suspense is whether or not he will ever get out of the terminal and if so, how.
The subplot is his romance with an airline hostess, Catherine Zeta-Jones. Unfortunately, she adds nothing to the movie. Her acting was par for her which is sub-par and she doesn't really fit. While Zeta-Jones is not beautiful she is too glamorous for today's generally homely hostesses, And for an airport which is usually full of hostesses she is the only one that appears.
But despite its flaws, the movie keeps moving and it is entertaining if one ignores its unrealities. The ending though is weird and not particularly satisfying.