Facebook Twitter Instagram
    Latest
    • Thank You
    • 4000. Scenes From A Marriage (1973)
    • 3999. The Pianist (2002)
    • 3998. Philadelphia (1993)
    • 3997. Jeanne Dielman, 23 Quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles (1975)
    • 3996. The Green Mile (1999)
    • 3995. Doctor Zhivago (1965)
    • 3994. Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery (2022)
    The Mad Movie Man
    • Home
    • Blog
      • All Posts
      • Best Of The Year
        • Best Of 2015
        • Best Of 2016
        • Best Of 2017
        • Best Of 2018
        • Best Of 2019
        • Best Of 2020
        • Best Of 2021
        • Best Of 2022
      • The Decade In Review
      • Box Office Analysis
      • James Bond
      • Oscars
      • RANKED
      • Star Wars
      • The Big Questions
      • Top 10
      • World Cinema
    • Ratings
      • Top 250
      • Top 100 Foreign Films
      • Bottom 50
      • 0 – 1.9
      • 2 – 3.9
      • 4 – 5.9
      • 6 – 7.9
      • 8 – 10
    • Genres
      • Action
      • Anthology
      • Animation
      • Christmas
      • Comedy
      • Crime
      • Documentary
      • Drama
      • Fantasy
      • Film-Noir
      • History
      • Horror
      • Kids’
      • Musical
      • Psychological
      • Romance
      • Sci-Fi
      • Short
      • Silent
      • Sport
      • Superhero
      • Survival
      • Thriller
      • Western
    • Release Year
      • 2020s
      • 2010s
      • 2000s
      • 1990s
      • 1980s
      • 1970s
      • 1960s
      • 1950s
      • 1940s
      • 1930s
      • 1920s
    • Country
      • Afghanistan
      • Argentina
      • Australia
      • Austria
      • Belgium
      • Brazil
      • Cambodia
      • Canada
      • Chile
      • China
      • Colombia
      • Costa Rica
      • Czechoslovakia
      • Czech Republic
      • Denmark
      • East Timor
      • Faroe Islands
      • Finland
      • France
      • Germany
      • Georgia
      • Greece
      • Hong Kong
      • Hungary
      • Iceland
      • India
      • Indonesia
      • Iran
      • Iraq
      • Ireland
      • Israel
      • Italy
      • Japan
      • Latvia
      • Lebanon
      • Laos
      • Malaysia
      • Mexico
      • New Zealand
      • Nigeria
      • North Korea
      • Norway
      • Paraguay
      • Peru
      • Philippines
      • Poland
      • Romania
      • Russia
      • Saudi Arabia
      • Singapore
      • South Korea
      • South Africa
      • Soviet Union
      • Spain
      • Sweden
      • Switzerland
      • Syria
      • Taiwan
      • Thailand
      • Turkey
      • Uganda
      • United Kingdom
      • United States
      • Uruguay
      • Vietnam
      • Zambia
    • About
    The Mad Movie Man
    You are at:Home»Review»1162. The Terminal (2004)

    1162. The Terminal (2004)

    0
    By The Mad Movie Man on November 25, 2015 120-129 mins, 2004, 8 - 10, Comedy, Drama, Movies Of 2015, Nov 15, Review, United States
    8.4 Light and uplifting
    • Acting 8.5
    • Directing 8.4
    • Story 8.4
    • User Ratings (0 Votes) 0

    Starring: Tom Hanks, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Stanley Tucci

    Director: Steven Spielberg

    Running Time: 128 mins


    The Terminal is an American film about Viktor Navorski, an Eastern European who finds himself stranded in JFK Airport in New York after he is refused entry to the US, and cannot be deported. As a result, he is forced to live in the airport terminal until he is finally allowed out.

    By Steven Spielberg’s standards, this is an extremely light and easy-going movie. However, it’s not completely vapid and unintelligent, but is instead a hugely entertaining story that’s got a great deal of laughs, a wonderful central performance by Tom Hanks, as well as brilliant human emotion that makes it all much more impressive than a generic cheesy comedy-drama, but still an easy enough one to relax and enjoy watching.

    Let’s start with Tom Hanks, who plays Viktor, this man who finds himself stuck in JFK Airport. He doesn’t speak much English, and so initially seems quite a naive person. Pulling off a foreign accent is incredibly hard in itself, but when you have to completely change your normal persona to play this character, it’s something really special, and Tom Hanks manages that superbly.

    With the accent, and the more happy-go-lucky outlook on life, it felt to me as if Hanks had completely disappeared into the character, and gave a massively convincing and wonderfully pleasant performance, which deserves a huge amount of credit.

    The main atmosphere of the film is a more positive, uplifting one too. It’s all about this guy who is put into a ridiculously frustrating situation (being stuck in the most tedious and stressful of all places, an airport lounge), and just goes with it, and makes his own home out of the place, which is simply really fun to see.

    Whilst it’s also a fantasy that so many people had as kids, it’s brilliant to see how Viktor changes the airport from an airport into a very homely place, something that’s portrayed brilliantly by Spielberg. The movie was shot on a huge set, which was designed to look exactly like an airport, and does exactly that,so Spielberg has the opportunity to show Hanks’ character constantly moving around and living his life in one space by showing the same landmarks and shops again and again in the background.

    That doesn’t come off as frustrating, however, it just really cements the idea that this man is truly stuck here, but is beginning to make a life out of his being in the airport, and is instead a fantastic touch to make the story all the more convincing.

    But it’s not just a completely light-hearted movie. Sure, I thought the main part was the enjoyability and the laughs, but there’s also a good emotional story behind this. The homesickness and isolation Viktor feels at the beginning is very strong, whilst the ongoing battle between himself and the airport head of security who is trying to get rid of him puts you firmly behind Viktor, making every moment that he appears under threat all the more worrying, but exciting too.

    Overall, I’ll give The Terminal an 8.4, because it’s got an absolutely fantastic central performance by Tom Hanks, supported by brilliant directing by Steven Spielberg, and a wonderfully uplifting, but still emotional and intelligent story that keeps you fully engaged from start to finish.

    Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr Email
    The Mad Movie Man
    • Website
    • Facebook
    • Twitter

    The Mad Movie Man, AKA Anthony Cullen, writes articles and reviews about movies and the world of cinema. From January 1st, 2013 to December 31st, 2022, he watched and reviewed a movie every day. This is the blog dedicated to the project: www.madmovieman.com

    Related Posts

    8.2

    4000. Scenes From A Marriage (1973)

    7.8

    3999. The Pianist (2002)

    8.2

    3998. Philadelphia (1993)

    Follow Me Online!
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • YouTube
    • Tumblr
    New Releases
    8.2
    December 25, 2022

    3994. Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery (2022)

    5.6
    December 10, 2022

    3969. Falling For Christmas (2022)

    6.9
    December 4, 2022

    3956. The People We Hate At The Wedding (2022)

    5.4
    December 3, 2022

    3954. Disenchanted (2022)

    7.4
    December 3, 2022

    3953. Meet Cute (2022)

    7.6
    November 23, 2022

    3934. Do Revenge (2022)

    7.0
    November 18, 2022

    3929. The Wonder (2022)

    6.7
    November 13, 2022

    3924. See How They Run (2022)

    Recommended Movies
    8.1
    Review
    April 24, 20180

    2126. Hercules (1997)

    9.4
    Review
    April 12, 20130

    119. 127 Hours (2010)

    8.1
    Review
    January 29, 20150

    837. Bridge To Terabithia (2007)

    9.1
    Review
    January 10, 20180

    2012. I, Tonya (2017)

    10.0
    Review
    May 1, 20140

    544. Senna (2010)

    Popular Posts
    December 31, 2022

    Thank You

    8.2
    December 31, 2022

    4000. Scenes From A Marriage (1973)

    7.8
    December 30, 2022

    3999. The Pianist (2002)

    8.2
    December 29, 2022

    3998. Philadelphia (1993)

    7.5
    December 28, 2022

    3997. Jeanne Dielman, 23 Quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles (1975)

    9.1
    December 27, 2022

    3996. The Green Mile (1999)

    7.6
    December 26, 2022

    3995. Doctor Zhivago (1965)

    © 2023 ThemeSphere. Designed by ThemeSphere.

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.