Excellent, Underrated Film- The "It's A Wonderful Life" of the 21st Century

Rating: 10/10 (26 January 2009)

"The Terminal" is a movie that opened in theaters in the summer of 2004, quickly disappeared, and has sort of gotten a bad rap ever since. I saw it on DVD in November 2004, shortly before Thanksgiving, and absolutely fell in love with the film. I say it's the "It's A Wonderful Life" of the 21st Century because the two films have a lot in common. They were both directed by A-List directors, had an A-List actor as the lead, are feel good films, initially didn't do as well at the box office as they should have, and would not seem out of place when played during the holidays. In at least a decade from now, this film will be considered a modern day classic. Mark my words.
So why was it so great? First and foremost, Tom Hanks played Viktor Navorski so well, and sold every scene he was in. Hanks never played a foreigner before, or at least not one that didn't speak much English. Here, he pulled off something not many other actors could do. Not only did his character not speak very much English, but you could really see in Hanks' eyes the fear, confusion, and oblivion of being stranded in a foreign country with little means, and through no fault of his own. There aren't many other American actors who could do that good a job at acting the role so convincingly.
Stanley Tucci was also relatively flawless in his performance as Frank Dixon, director of the Homeland Security branch of the JFK Airport. Tucci has a difficult role here as the straight man, not to mention the occasional bad guy in some situations. However, Tucci never misses a beat, and this role could be regarded as his best so far. Often times, I found myself wondering why Frank Dixon wanted Navorski out of the terminal, then towards the end didn't want him to go to New York. I'm sure there's an explanation somewhere, but this one plot inconsistency didn't ruin my enjoyment of the film at all.
The interactions between Frank Dixon and Viktor Navorski are classic, and often times very funny. Probably the best scene between him and Hanks, besides when they first meet, are when Hanks is brought in to translate for the Russian immigrant with pills for his father. Very few scenes make me laugh and cry at the same time, but that one is one of them. It's just a truly remarkable and poignant scene.
Also noteworthy in scenes with both Tucci and Hanks is Barry Shabaka Henley, who played chief officer Thurman. Henley is one of those character actors whose name isn't known, but you immediately see him and say, "Yeah, I remember him. He was in 'Collateral', and he was also in 'What's Love Got To Do With It'". He's a good actor, and really shines in this movie.
Additionally, Catherine Zeta-Jones was pretty good in her role. Her character kind of came and went, but she played well opposite Hanks and there was an interesting love story there until the end. Chi McBride, Diego Luna, and Kumar Pallana also provided some great comic relief, but also scenes of heartbreaking poignancy.
Apart from the acting, the set design was incredible. Research shows that the movie was shot almost entirely on a set, not in the JFK Airport. If I hadn't researched that fact myself, I wouldn't have known. Some may argue that showing the stores such as the Sharper Image, Burger King, and Borders were shameful product placement, but they really added a hugely realistic element to the movie.
For a movie with a moderately big budget ($60 million), it's surprising to me that the DVD release of the film (at least initially) has a nice menu, but no special features whatsoever. There's no "making of" documentaries (although one did air on HBO prior to the film's release), no director's or actor's commentary, and no deleted scenes. Regardless, it's a DVD that I make it a point to watch at least once a year, if not twice (and I watch a lot of movies, mind you). It's just that good. Besides the acting and the set design, the movie just tells an excellent story. It has not gotten the credit it deserves yet, but it will soon. It's a superb film, and I highly recommend it. Easily one of the best films of this decade (2000-2009) so far.