Well done; but a bit of fantasy

Rating: 7/10 (23 July 2004)

I have to admit this story drew me in. There is a lot about the movie that made me go, "Wait a minute..." but all in all, it was a good story and I was able to overlook many of the sillier events. Tom Hanks is so good that I kept forgetting that he's not really an Eastern European. I had read that his accent left something to be desired...I don't agree. I do that that Catherine Zeta-Jones had a distracting accent, however. Sometimes she sounded like she had a slight southern twang and other times that was absent. This was a largely character driven story, and I thought that all of the actors did a great job. I cared about the airport employees--and Stanley Tucci had us laughing so hard at what a jerk he had to be. I didn't find it slow at all...maybe just a bit more quiet. It's not slapstick, although there's quite a bit of slipping and falling on a wet floor, if that's what makes you laugh (I have to admit I did laugh at the people falling down...). Not the best movie I've ever seen, but not horrible as many reviews have complained. I recommend this one to those who enjoy a good story.