Unbelievable and uninteresting tale of bureacracy gone mad

Rating: Null/10 (12 March 2005)

STAR RATING:*****Unmissable****Very Good***Okay**You Could Go Out For A Meal Instead*Avoid At All Costs
Viktor Norvorski (Tom Hanks) is a man who must catch a flight back to his native Krakozhia,a far off country in Eastern Europe.However,the night before he is due to fly back there is a political overhaul there and,without a valid destination on his ticket,he is deemed 'unacceptable' and forced to take up residence within the confines of JFK airport.Unable to leave the perimeters of the airport,Viktor ends up taking up a job there and forms friendships with some of the workers,as well as developing a budding romance with disillusioned air stewardess Amelia (Catherine Zeta Jones).But with the bureaucratic manager Frank Dixon (Stanley Tucci) breathing down his neck at every turn,getting out is not going to be easy...
2004 was not a good year for Tom Hanks,with this and the critically blasted The Ladykillers added to his CV.
The Terminal is apparently based on a true story,which is rather perplexing as the story is so implausible and outlandish that it's the hardest to accept so-called true story of all.In fact,there is very little right with The Terminal at all.
First of all,the performances are rubbish.The usually reliable Hanks (one of my favourite actors,in fact) stutters uneasily in his role as an initially bumbling foreign visitor who by the end is revealing himself to actually be rather intelligent.Jones has never been the greatest actress and she is terrible here,not to mention not particularly pretty (that nose-job was a real bad idea!)The only one who comes out with any real credibility is Tucci in a supporting role.It's a shame and rather odd as Hanks and Steven Spielberg's previous two collaborations Catch Me If You Can and Saving Private Ryan have been brilliant,so it's a wonder that this one turned out as such a sagging mess...
Aside from being totally ridiculous and poorly acted (by a lead star who REALLY should have known better!),The Terminal is simply a boring and overlong experience.Before the first hour had even clocked the meter,I wanted it to be over,so that should really say it all.It had the potential to be as great as any of the director or leading star's previous work,but ultimately just emerges as 'terminal' boredom.**