The Terminal

Film Title: The Terminal
Year: 2004
MPAA Rating: PG-13
Length: 128 minutes
Film Genre(s): Drama, elements of comedy and romance
Director(s): Steven Spielberg
Producer(s): Jason Hoffs, Andrew Niccol, Patricia Whitcher
Writer(s): Andrew Niccol and Sacha Gervasi (story); Sacha Gervasi and Jeff Nathanson (screenplay)
Players:
Tom Hanks as Viktor Navorski
Catherine Zeta Jones as Amelia Warren
Stanley Tucci as Frank Dixom
Chi McBride as Mulroy
Diego Luna as Enrique Cruz
Barry Shabaka Henley as Thurman
Kumar Pallana as Gupta Rajan
Zoe Saldana as Officer Torres
and cameo by Richard Gere
Plot: When war breaks out in his country of Krakozhia, Viktor Navorski is forced to live in an airport terminal at JFK as his visa and passport are "unnacceptable". It's the story of a promise kept, a compassionate heart and a fight for love...in an airport.
Acting: Strangely enough Tom hanks does a phenomenal job as an Eastern European. Cold-hearted Frank Dixon is portrayed by the perfect actor, Stanley Tucci - it seems he was born for this role. Dixon is determined to live by the rules of the airport and no amount of pathos will win him over to a cause. Laughable (in a positive light) performances include Chi McBride, Enrique Luna and most definetely Kumar Pallana. Henley's portrayal of the kind-hearted Thurman is the necessary foil to the almost (but not quite) emotionless Airport Manager Frank Dixon.
Cinematography: The camera is used well as an instrument of mood. The terminal is often filed in chaos, with quick movements and wide pans. The hustle and bustle are brought to seeming stillness when needed by perfect character framing. My favorite camera shot has a giant 747 rolling down the runway framing one side of the shot and tiny Gupta running toward it (to get the plane to stop) framing the other side. Brilliant! In one of the last scenes, Viktor rides off in a cab beside the terminal with the reflection of the New York skyline in the window.
Visual: "Not one viewer in 100 will guess this is not a real airline terminal." Hard to believe, I know. "Here the terminal with all of its levels, with its escalators and retail shops and food courts and security lines and passenger gates, actually exists" (rogerebert.suntimes.com). The sets are done well with several instances of both wonderful and very poor lighting. There is a reflection off of a fountain at one point which makes the scene difficult to watch.
Audio: The score is almost completely "airport music", if and when there is any music. Almost all of the movie dialogue is recorded over background talking, so it is a tribute to the techs who made those sound effects secondary but evident.
What to watch for: The peanut can. Gupta's character is quite funny in the defense of "his floor" and the wet floor hijinks. A very good performance by Tom Hanks. Two of the most beautiful actresses in all of Hollywood grace this film: Catherine Zeta Jones and Zoe Saldana.
What to watch out for: Allusions to Napoleon between Viktor and Amelia become almost silly after the third or fourth reference (I realize that the writers & producers are attempting to mirror the story of Viktor and Amelia, but I think it's just too much).
When I watched it last: One night prior to review
IMDB User Rating: 7.1 out of 10
Roger Ebert Rating: 3 and a half stars out of 4 - "The Terminal doesn't have a plot; it tells a story. We want to know what will happen next, and we care."
The Cinema Standard Overall Score: 7.0 out of 10 - definitely worth a rental, maybe worth a buy
- - Reveiwed by JB