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The Terminal

Starring: Tom Hanks, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Stanley Tucci, Chi McBride, Diego Luna, Zoe Saldana, Kumar Pallana
Director: Steven Spielberg

Reviewed by Lise Ching

A cynic may see The Terminal as schmaltz, pure and simple.  The less jaded viewer may choose to see it as Steven Spielberg’s motivational message to America.  Through this film, he teaches “Keep your promises.”  “Do the right thing.”  And, most importantly, “When in doubt, go with Tom Hanks.”
 
The heart of the film is Viktor Navorski (Hanks) – a tourist stranded at JFK Airport after a coup in his native Krakozhia has rendered him “a citizen of nowhere.”  Homeland Security Officer Frank Dixon (played superbly by Stanley Tucci) instructs him to wait at the airport until a new visa can be issued.  And wait he does.  For months.
 
No good Tom Hanks film would be complete without a little bit of that goofy romantic comedy that he is famous for.  Amelia, aka Ice Queen Flight Attendant (played by Ice Queen Catherine Zeta-Jones), fills the role of woman-to-pine-over.  If there is a weak spot in the story, this is it.  Perhaps it’s a lack of charisma between the two actors, but it’s hard to believe that of the thousands of people that Navorski encountered during his residence in the terminal that he would have been charmed by this woman.
 
Navorski’s daily life includes more than the occasional near-misses with Amelia.  He befriends food service worker Enrique (Y Tu Mamá También’s Diego Luna) and United employee (Chi McBride).  A less-than-trusting janitor, Gupta (scene-stealing Kumar Pallana) is slower to warm to the eternal optimism of Navorski, but with good reason.  Gupta’s back story of his life in India is probably the most honest part of the plot.  Well, that and the fact that the head of airport security makes less per hour than the under-the-table construction job that Navorski picks up.
 
What I enjoyed most about this film were the playful digs at “the system.”  In our post-9/11 world, it’s easy to get caught up in following the rules and playing by the book in the name of safety.  All that is bad about bureaucracy is personified in Officer Dixon (Tucci).  He serves as our reminder to see the person in the laws – and anyone who’s stood in line at customs, the DMV or student financial aid knows  the pain of being stamped “Denied!” 
 
Equally impressive was the set.  Anyone who’s been to an airport recently knows that it doesn’t matter where you are, when you’re in an airport you are in Anywhereville.  This massive set was dressed to the nines in only the way that a generic, stale airport terminal can be – complete with broken pay phones and uncomfortable chairs.  Sbarro anyone?
 
Is this the best Spielberg film?  No.  Is it oversentimental at times?  Yes.  Even I, the lover of schmaltz, got a bit worried when Navorski’s beloved can of Planter’s peanuts came dangerously close into turning into this film’s “Wilson.”  However, above all, The Terminal made me appreciate my frequent flyer miles, and my citizenship, all the more.

Rating:

(3 out of 4 stars)

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