The Terminal. Review on The Terminal Movie

Cast Tom Hanks, Catherine Zeta Jones, Stanley Tucci, Kumar Pallana.

Dir Steven Spielberg.

Genre Drama/Comedy.

Warning: The plot has been revealed in this review. If you haven’t seen the movie yet and are interested in doing so, do not proceed to read. The reviewer is a huge fan of Tom Hanks so the review is biased.

I am a movie buff and have a fairly good collection of Tom Hanks movies. About 4 weeks back, I happened to see this movie and wrote a review for our company newsletter. Posted it on my blog too.

Well. Spielberg is a master of his craft. Technically, his films are awesome and so are the emotions and portrayal of the characters. This film has all of his masterly touches - superb crane shots, a fabulous set, casting, everything is perfect.

Hanks plays Viktor Navorski, a tourist from a small European country Krakozhia who only speaks Russian. He is left in travel-visa limbo when Krakozhia undergoes a coup and suspends all its passports. At that time, Viktor was on his way to NY. When he lands there, all attempts by the terse security chief (Tucci) to explain the situation in English, fail, as Viktor barely understands English.

He is left to his own devices with some food coupons and strict instructions not to leave the premises.

Here begins his little adventures. He sleeps on benches in a under-construction passenger gate, loses his food-coupons and is left with no US currency. So, he collects quarters by returning rented baggage carts. Over the weeks (months?) he learns English by comparing English tourists guides with his Russian one.

There are many extremely funny episodes with a paranoid janitor (Kumar Pallana) who thinks Viktor is a spy for the Immigration Services, another in which Viktor helps a baggage guy to win over and marry an immigration clerk. He also manages to get an under-the-table job with a construction crew. All, at the Terminal.

The romantic angle is provided by the pretty flight attendant (Zeta-Jones). Jones mistakes Viktor for a businessman and hopes he can change her mixed-up life.

The villainous Tucci, tries to force an arrest on Viktor, for no apparent reason. Maybe it was the work pressure or his hope to get promoted by avoiding any kind of nuisance at the terminal.

But in the end, the movie gets slightly sloppy and mushy despite Hanks' brilliant performance, a clever plot and commendable efforts from the rest of the cast. The only unpredictable end is to the budding romance and the reason for Viktor's visit to NY.

All said, The Terminal is a delightful watch if you can sit through the last 10 minutes.