A good film overall but still rather weak in a few places.

Rating: 7/10 (30 September 2004)

The Terminal is a good film that is funny, entertaining and deals with some good ol' fashioned drama situations. It felt very much like a documentary at times, maybe due to the fact it's based on a true story from the 1980's, but that didn't retract from the enjoyment factor. To say it's a story all about the trials and tribulations of just one man is perhaps a little too shallower way to sum it up but at certain times, you do wonder if the film's going anywhere. Such it is that the film DOES contain a few laughable moments adding to its comedy tag.
These come at certain intervals and everything in-between is just 'filla'. So there are some good, comic moments but in my opinion, there aren't as many 'funny' parts to make you laugh all the way through. The film deals with 'slapstick' humour in parts such as slipping over a wet floor or walking into a window. It's those sort of moments that do sort of distract from the film slightly.
Some of the stories within the film also feel generally annoying in the sense of the point of them being there. The film was supposed to be about one man (Hanks) I thought, NOT solely about anyone else and so I was rather surprised to see the little story about the food/cafeteria delivery worker attempting to get one of the other airport workers to fall in love with him. Things like that were flawed and distracted from the actual film. As I said before, that particular story line acted as a 'filla'; a way of upping the film length and it was disappointing.
Hanks' acting is good and although his accent was terribly annoying early on, I managed to adjust accordingly and with stand it all the way through. The character 'Gupta' is also rather amusing; using the simple concept of forcing people to slip up on his own polished floor merely for his amusement was rather odd- odd but funny none-the-less. Zeta-Jones' character and performance was also 'tolerable'. She wasn't in the film much I didn't notice but it's a good feeling when you realize Hanks has someone to really relate to as you stat to feel as if your feeling sorry for Hanks if you get into it too much and the acting from Zeta- Jones is some relief at least.
All in all I think you'll enjoy 'The Terminal' if you're the patient type. It's got a bit of humour, a bit of tragedy, a hint of romance and some moments where you'll really feel good for the characters as they finally get what they want after the last half an hour or so was probably built up to 'will it/they or won't it/they' not to mention the film itself on Hanks' struggle with staying in the airport.