Feel-good

Rating: 10/10 (8 July 2004)

It's funny how Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks, two of Hollywood's most powerful men, who could literally do any movie they want, end up making something like The Terminal. Instead of reaching for new heights of film-making like including the latest in special effects, or new original ways of storytelling and editing, Spielberg goes back to a simpler form. That in itself is surprisingly refreshing. Filmmakers try so hard to be inventive and change the typical form of the classics, that when someone finally does go back to that Capra or Wilder fashion, it ends up seeming original. That's what The Terminal goes for. A movie about characters, not plot. About emotion, not CGI. It's a true heart-felt piece of work. It's funny, it's cute, and it always keeps you interested.
Tom Hanks leads an exceptional cast as Viktor Navorski, a man stranded in JFK airport, not welcome in the U.S. and having no country to come home to. Throughout the experience he makes friends, a love interest, and a rival. He changes all of their lives, of course. That's to be expected from a movie like this. Tom Hanks is totally believable, accent and all. It's a performance well worthy of an Oscar nod.
I loved The Terminal for many reasons, but one big reason is it's simplicity. And more importantly, because it is good at being simple. It doesn't contribute anything new to movies, it doesn't try to. It is what it is. A great, feel-good film. Something that is getting rarer and rarer these days. Sometimes you'll want to see a gritty, wrenching melodrama, but other times you'll want to see The Terminal.
My rating: 10/10