An Enjoyable but Minor Film in the Hanks library

Rating: Null/10 (20 June 2004)

Ahh another romantic comedy/ordinary guy overcoming extraordinary circumstances with a strong but compassionate determination that we have come to expect from a Tom Hanks movie. I've generally enjoyed Hanks' movies and I can say I liked this one, although not as much as say "Sleepless In Seattle" or "Cast Away". Very light plot points are mentioned so very low on the spoiler radar.
First off, there are going to people who are not going to enjoy this move. If you are one to go after the logic in the situation presented by "The Terminal" you are going to be annoyed. My logical side would often come up with lots of questions about key plot points. For example, my logical side couldn't exactly swallow the fact that in a NY airport they couldn't get a translator for Viktor's character even despite the fact that he had been in the terminal for an extended period of time. There are LOTS of logical inconsistencies like this throughout the movie, so if you are going to look at them, you are just going to p*ss off your fellow moviegoers once you start venting them out loud. Some tighter writing and good edits would have helped a lot on that end.
But if you are willing to leave your sense of real world logic at the door, then you can be drawn in by the emotion and the magic that Speilberg attempts to weave in "The Terminal". There are parts of the movie that can tug at your heart or really make you smile and make you go "Awwwww". One example is how Hanks face conveys his character just finding out about the turmoil in his home country. The sense of fear, confusion and anguish he expresses cant help but make you feel sorry for the guy who has just realized how royally screwed he is. The fact that he doesn't even speak English at this point in the movie shows how believably easy makes Hanks makes this look.
As much as I can see why the Hollywood buzz is a factor in casting, Katherine Zeta Jones wouldn't be my choice for the love interest stewardess character. Her stage presence doesn't present a quality of a "hardened yet vulnerable" woman that the role really needs. I come with a bit of a bias here, having enjoyed a lot of Hanks' previous works, but I really saw Meg Ryan ("Joe Vs. The Volcano","Sleepless in Seattle") or even possibly Robin Wright Penn (Jenny in "Forrest Gump") more of a fit. Now that I think of it, Helen Hunt ("As Good as It Gets") would have been good too.
The best way to look at the movie is the supporting character of Gupta, the Indian janitor. There are times when I found the writing they gave him, including the tagline("Do you have an appointment?!?") he spouts throughout the film annoying but his character gets some of the best moments in the movie - the dinner scene got the loudest laughs in the theatre. If you can accept Gupta and not be critical of his film flaws then you can enjoy the film as a whole.
Finally, an aspect of the film that I haven't seen been written about in detail yet is the message behind the movie - the notion of waiting. The entire movie and its characters revolve around it. An airport terminal - essentially a giant waiting room, Viktor is waiting to fulfill a promise, Ameilia the stewardess and Diego Luna's airport driver are waiting on love,and even the antagonist immigration executive Frank Dixon is waiting on his promotion. So the poster tagline "Life is waiting" has a sense of a philosophical meaning behind it.
So with summer releases going after more CGI and "bigger is better" mentality, its nice to see Hollywood come up with decent character driven films like "The Terminal". Its a flawed film but a flawed film that can be enjoyed.