The Popkorn Junkie :: The Terminal

Arriving at an international destination can be very confusing, especially if you do not speak the language of the nation you are visiting. Such is the case for Viktor Navorski (Tom Hanks), who is visiting New York and America for the first time from his Eastern European nation home.

As he is preparing to clear immigration, Viktor is detained by security and is informed that he is unable to enter the country due to a coup in his homeland that occurred while he was in the air. Viktor has become a man without a country as his government no longer exists causing his passport to become invalid and leaving Viktor unable to leave the airport or return to another country.

As difficult as this is for Viktor the head of the airport security Frank Dixon (Stanley Tucci), finds it even more intolerable, not for any humanitarian reasons, but rather that Viktor complicates his life, especially when he is about to get a big promotion. Dixon believes that in time Viktor will grow weary of waiting and will slip away into the city where he will become someone else’s problem allowing him to concentrate on other matters.

Things do not go as planned as Viktor remains faithfully in the terminal finding all manner of ways to cope and sustain himself through his ingenuity and the kindness of some airport workers, especially a food service worker (Diego Luna), who provides food for Viktor in exchange for help in wooing an attractive immigration agent (Zoe Saldana), As the time passes, Viktor meets an attractive flight attendant named Amelia (Catherine Zeta Jones), who is taken with Viktor’s kindness even though she is having issues in her life due to her involvement with a married man.

As time passes, Viktor adapts to his ongoing situation, makes friends, and becomes closer to Amelia, but never loses site of his goal to enter America as his spirit and endurance help him gain support and admiration from all he meets save Dixon. Hanks is charming as Viktor as he has a naivety about him that is balanced by wisdom, compassion, and integrity that make him a believable yet sympathetic character. The supporting cast is good especially Tucci and Luna who come across as very realistic characters as their motivations and intentions are well-defined and they do not deviate from them yet show other facets that enable them to come across as well-rounded characters. Zeta-Jones has a great chemistry with Hanks making you wish they could have had more screen time with each other.

Praise also goes to Spielberg who keeps the film moving at a steady pace but avoids many Hollywood clichés and allows events to unfold in a natural manner without making it seem forced. I was very surprised by “The Terminal” as it is a very solid and entertaining film that will delight Hanks fans. Yes, the film does require you to suspend certain realities but the majority of the events around Viktor are plausible and allow the audiences to learn about Viktor as he learns about America.

-- Gareth ( 3 1/2 out of 4 pops )

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Other Junkie's opinions.....

Matt ( 3 1/2 out of 4 pops )

Another score for Spielberg! "The Terminal" is a funny, touching and powerful story with an excellent, Oscar-worthy performance by Tom Hanks. That sums it up in a nutshell. Any movie that can totally suck me in for 2 hours deserves to be classified as "great," and this is definitely one of those films. Hanks's character of Viktor Navorski is very well-developed, and I was able to feel his pain and struggle as he'd roam around the terminal, with minimal knowledge of the English language. I imagine it's more difficult for Hanks to be convincing in a role like this, since anybody who wasn't in a coma for the last 20 years knows who he is. So there goes the concept of fooling the audience into believing they cast an actual Russian for the role. But throughout the course of the film, I would forget that was Tom Hanks on screen. He's one of the few, if not the only, top-paid actors who has that sort of capability. The situations our main character stumbles into require us to suspend a good deal of disbelief, but I felt so much sympathy for him that it wasn't a problem. If you're in the mood for something dark and cynical, this movie won't suit your needs. If you're looking for a feel-good movie that will make you feel uplifted, you will be far from disappointed. Hanks's tour-de-force performance alone is worth the price of admission.

Mike ( 3 1/2 out of 4 pops )

What can you say... another film made by Spielberg and starring Tom Hanks. It can't miss, right? Almost all of the side characters in this very interesting and original film are very good, but what makes this movie really special and entertaining is Tom Hanks playing Victor Navorski. Hanks should certainly be up for yet another Oscar for this marvelous performance. He' funny as well as sympathetic. And his accent while knowing very little English is right on the mark. My main quibble with this film is that I didn't buy the Catherine Zeta-Jones character at all. For some reason she just was not very believable to me in this role and the character is a stereotype woman we have seen so many times before. Also, I found the character played by Stanley Tucci to be a bit over the top and somewhat not real as well. But if you want to go see a feel-good movie that is highly entertaining and contains a great Hanks performance, don't miss this one.