Hanks and Spielberg do it again-another winner!

Rating: 10/10 (5 July 2004)

I've seen some really good movies in 2004 but so far, this maybe the best. The Terminal is an incredible fairy tale of a movie-it's quietly captivating, rich in interesting colorful characters and superbly acted and directed.
Tom Hanks as Victor Navorsky is quite simply entrancing to watch. He is an amazing character actor and in The Terminal he again creates a character who is instantly embraceable. You care about Victor and want things to turn out OK for him as much as his friends in the Terminal do.
This is a movie that actually got some bad reviews and I'm baffled by why. Although, I usually can see flaws in even the movies I think are 8's and 9's there isn't much to be critical of here. Some people have said it's to "feel good". That it's lacking in reality. I don't necessarily see those as negatives, there are many good movies that are feel good or unrealistic, just as there are some bad ones. The Terminal has a lot that's likable about it.
Firstly, there's Hanks himself and I will admit if any other actor had played Victor it might not be the movie it is, Hanks is simply amazing, you forget who he is within the first five minutes. I won't mention everyone by name, but the rich array of supporting actors/actresses were all good as well. It is an unusual movie that really isn't either a straight comedy OR a straight drama-it perhaps falls through the cracks of genres but I'd call this mostly a heartwarming and completely absorbing character study of one man's attempt to make a life for himself in an airport terminal. It's a very different type of movie-for all the strategically placed product adds, there's something quietly uncommercial about Terminal and watching it is an interesting experience.
The movie is about 2 hours and you get a lot in those two hours. For me what was striking was how genuinely interesting this movie turned out to be. I'm one who finds airport terminals fascinating anyway-all the hundreds of and thousands of people rushing about to hop on a plane and start some new adventure....but to actually live in a terminal-an interesting (and rather strange) concept-Hanks acting here is quiet and understated and at a level surpassing merely "talented". He manages to make nibbling a cracker fascinating. I would give this a 10 of 10 and know there are many who may think it's not for them but I found this movie to be a beautiful fairytale of a picture and hope at least Hanks gets an Oscar nod. I also hope that skeptics give this movie a chance-as good a movie as any Hanks film I've ever seen. 10 of 10.