Steven Spielberg appears to be making movies in pairs. Back in the nineties he made the WWII epics Schindler's List and Saving Private Ryan then at the beginning of the new millennium there came the slightly edgy sci/fi movies A.I. and Minority Report. Now he gives us The Terminal a feel good comedy that nicely bookends Catch Me if You Can. Tom Hanks, meanwhile, has found the perfect inverse of his movie Cast Away. He is fat in this instead of thin, is stranded in an airport terminal instead of on an island and instead of being alone he is constantly surrounded by thousands of strangers.
Hanks is Viktor Navorski. While his flight to New York is in mid-air a war breaks out in his homeland, the fictional Eastern European country of Krakozhia. Due to bureaucratic red tape - that is never completely plausible - he is unable to enter the United States or to go back home. In other words he must stay in the airport indefinitely. This is your basic fish-out-of-water set-up. Initially he speaks only a few words of English and is overwhelmed and confused by his new environment. Soon he figures out a few basic survival tricks and has a few mild confrontations with airport boss Stanley Tucci. He is up for a promotion and Viktor is a thorn in his side. But before you can say 'happily ever after' Viktor is making friends with all of the airport employees, doing impressive construction work on an unfinished section of the terminal (he also 'lives' in this area - gate 67), and wooing a beautiful American flight attendant (Zeta-Jones).
Despite the situation comedy setup (or perhaps because of it) The Terminal fares best when it is being funny. Hanks' accent is wonderful and he really seems to be enjoying himself. He also gets great assistance from the supporting cast, especially Barry Shabaka Henley as a paranoid plate juggling janitor from India, and Diego Luna a lovesick young airport employee who supplies Viktor with food in exchange for information about the object of his affections. She is the woman whose job it is to stamp passports either accepted or denied. Every day Viktor fills out the proper form and submits it to her for judgement.
Poor Catherine Zeta-Jones. Not only is she underused (we are never for a moment allowed to forget that this is a star vehicle for Hanks) but her character is not only basically pathetic but totally unbelievable. This drop dead gorgeous woman is hopelessly in love with an older, married man who treats her like a doorstop. Like when I picture a lonely, desperate woman Catherine Zeta-Jones is the first one that comes to mind.
Visually it's stunning. The entire terminal was designed, engineered and built just for this movie. Spielberg captures the ethnic diversity and multiculturalism of New York's JFK and it looks as if the costume designer, Mary Zophres, had her hands full creating the wide ranging, colorful ensembles worn by the hundreds of extras that file through the movie in a continuous stream.
It is only when we are supposed to feel something other than humor that the movie misses a step. Emotionally Spielberg is a bit too heavy-handed particularly in the scenes between Hanks and Zeta-Jones. Their romance is easily the plot's weakest link.
Fortunately The Terminal spends most of its energy inducing laughter or at least a smile. In a way it is refreshing to see Spielberg and Hanks in lightweight mode. Neither one is wrapped up in trying to send a message. This movie is intended to make an audience feel good and - in spite of its convoluted plot devices, clichéd characters and old fashioned hokum - it succeeds.
