Stranded again!

Rating: Null/10 (17 June 2004)

Tom Hanks once again finds himself stranded in a place where survival will take ingenuity and patience. He is completely out of his element and will have to take advantage of every resource at his disposal if he is to ever see home again. Yet this time it is not an unsettled island with a mute companion, but JFK and a bevy of airport helpfuls. Due to a political uprising in his homeland, Viktor Navorski (Tom Hanks) is a man without a country, a passport and any grasp of the English language. Yet through time and determination he discerns enough to begin a life within New York's International lounge where he must stay by law. As believable and interesting as the concept alone is, the movie has to add a bad guy and a beautiful love interest to make it, well, a movie. Enter Frank (Stanley Tucci) and Amelia (Catherine Zeta Jones) (Amelia being the love interest by the way). The remaining 2 plus hours of this film has us rooting for Viktor and booing Frank. There are quite a few lol moments to keep you entertained and Tom carries the weight of this Spielburger on his dexterous shoulders quite well. So well that you can forgive the "never could happen moments" and the trip down cheesy lane that almost hijacks a very touching ending. Mr. Hanks has the amazing ability to take a so-so movie and give us a character that we love and want to see succeed. He truly brings substance to each role and breathes much needed spirit into this film. Which without him could have given a whole new meaning to the title, The Terminal. This romp is Rated PG-13 for brief language. But is other wise quite harmless. So go see it, you could do a lot worse. With a spin on The Terminal, I'm Matt Mungle