Great Idea + Great Hanks = Entertaining Film

Rating: 7/10 (27 February 2017)

Sometimes, a movie only needs a great idea and a great actor to be really, really good. "The Terminal" is an example of that kind of film making. There are a number of things that prevent "The Terminal" from being an all-time classic, but the performance from Tom Hanks and the "guy trapped in an airport" premise is enough to make for a very entertaining movie.
For a basic plot summary, this film focuses on Viktor Novorski (Hanks), who is trying to get from his home country of Krakosau into the United States (New York City, to be exact). On the international trip, however, Krakosau is over-run by rebels and no longer recognized by the U.S. government. As a result, Novorski cannot return home, nor can he legally enter America. He is "trapped" in the airport terminal, waiting for something to happen. Not helping matters is that airport director Frank Dixon (Stanley Tucci) has it out for Viktor. While patiently waiting for a resolution to his situation, Viktor meets a number of friends, including a potential romantic interest (Catherine Zeta-Jones), a woman he greets every day trying to get his status validated (Zoe Saldana), and a number of other airport workers who help him be as comfortable as possible in such a strange situation.
"The Terminal" is a charming movie mainly because you'll probably never watch a film quite like it. Under the able direction of Steven Spielberg, the movie succeeds in taking a ludicrous situation and making you care about a majority of the proceedings. Of course, it helps to have Hanks in the drivers seat of the leading role, as he turns in yet another performance that will make you think "this can can play anything!". Without his presence, this would be a forgettable experience.
Unfortunately, "The Terminal" is completely and utterly unable to capture any romantic chemistry between the Hanks & Zeta-Jones characters. For whatever reason (likely because Zeta-Jones just simply isn't around enough), the emotional backbone of the movie fizzles. For me, this was enough to drop the experience an entire star rating. Had the romance angle been done better, it would have easily been five stars. As it was, there were just too many moments towards the end of the film where I was thinking "I know I SHOULD be wrapped up in these emotions more, but..." instead of just enjoying the experience.
Overall, though, "The Terminal" is a quirky, entertaining little flick that really emphasizes the "less is more" philosophy of making a solid cinematic experience. In this case, all it took was a great idea and a great actor. With those components given to Mr. Spielberg, he was able to work his magic (sans a believable romance) with the rest.