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Movies / On DVD / The Terminal
The Terminal

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The Terminal (2004)

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Reviews Counted:195

Fresh:118

Rotten:77

Average Rating:6.2/10

Consensus: Tom Hanks and the rest of the amiable cast make this bumpy ride worth sitting through.

Runtime: 2 hrs 9 mins

Genre: Dramas

Synopsis: Academy Award® winners Tom Hanks ("Philadelphia," "Forrest Gump") and Catherine Zeta-Jones ("Chicago") star in "The Terminal," under the direction of Academy Award®-winning filmmaker Steven... Academy Award® winners Tom Hanks ("Philadelphia," "Forrest Gump") and Catherine Zeta-Jones ("Chicago") star in "The Terminal," under the direction of Academy Award®-winning filmmaker Steven Spielberg ("Schindler’s List," "Saving Private Ryan"). "The Terminal" tells the story of Viktor Navorski (Tom Hanks), a visitor to New York from Eastern Europe, whose homeland erupts in a fiery coup while he is in the air en route to America. Stranded at Kennedy Airport with a passport from nowhere, he is unauthorized to actually enter the United States and must improvise his days and nights in the terminal’s international transit lounge until the war at home is over. As the weeks and months stretch on, Viktor finds the compressed universe of the terminal to be a richly complex world of absurdity, generosity, ambition, amusement, status, serendipity and even romance with a beautiful flight attendant named Amelia (Catherine Zeta-Jones). But Viktor has long worn out his welcome with airport official Frank Dixon, who considers him a bureaucratic glitch, a problem he cannot control but wants desperately to erase. "The Terminal" also stars Emmy winner Stanley Tucci (TV’s "Winchell," "Road to Perdition") as Frank Dixon. Rounding out the main cast are Chi McBride (TV’s "Boston Public"), Diego Luna ("Y Tu Mama, Tambien"), Barry "Shabaka" Henley ("Ali"), Kumar Pallana ("The Royal Tenenbaums"), Zoë Saldana ("Drumline"), Eddie Jones ("Seabiscuit") and Jude Ciccolella ("Down With Love"). Walter F. Parkes ("Catch Me If You Can"), Steven Spielberg and Laurie MacDonald ("The Ring") are producing "The Terminal," with Patricia Whitcher, Jason Hoffs and Andrew Niccol serving as executive producers. The screenplay is by Sacha Gervasi and Jeff Nathanson from a story by Niccol. [More]

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

Starring: Tom Hanks, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Stanley Tucci, Chi McBride, Diego Luna, Zoe Saldana, Barry Shabaka Henley

Director: Steven Spielberg

Director: Steven Spielberg
Screenwriter: Sacha Gervasi, Jeff Nathanson
Producer: Steven Spielberg, Walter F. Parkes, Laurie MacDonald
Composer: John Williams
Studio: DreamWorks Distribution LLC

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Reviews for The Terminal

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1 - 20 (sorted by source; UK critics are listed first)
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Hanks is a likeable actor but rarely a subtle one. Viktor is another cutesy emotional heart-tugger in the Forrest Gump mould, all galumphing slapstick.

Full Review Source: BBC | comment Comment
08/31/04
Nev Pierce
Nev Pierce
BBC
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Far less cuddly than expected, this unusual and elegant movie may have failed to connect with US audiences but it proves Spielberg is currently the most unpredictable director in Hollywood.

Full Review Source: Empire Magazine | comment Comment
09/04/04
Ian Nathan
Ian Nathan
Empire Magazine
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

So cute and sweet that any insightful observations will be lost to real-world audiences.

Full Review Source: Shadows on the Wall | comment Comment
07/19/04
Rich Cline
Rich Cline
Shadows on the Wall
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
02/09/06
Time Out
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

So satisfied with its feel-good status, it seems oblivious to the bad casting decisions

Full Review Source: Times [UK] | comment Comment
09/07/04
Wendy Ide
Wendy Ide
Times [UK]
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Something of a disappointment, despite solid work from Hanks and Tucci -- it’s as if Spielberg assembled all the ingredients for a great film and then decided to experiment and threw away the recipe.

Full Review Source: ViewLondon | comment Comment
09/04/04
Matthew Turner
Matthew Turner
ViewLondon

Misses the mark when it incorporates an ill-conceived love story between Tom Hanks and Catherine Zeta-Jones into the plot.

Full Review Source: About.com | comment Comment
06/16/04
Rebecca Murray
Rebecca Murray
About.com

There are story threads that play out enjoyably, and other threads end up going nowhere. Enjoy the film from scene to scene, since there are definite pleasures along the way.

Full Review Source: Ain't It Cool Movie Reviews | comment Comment
06/25/05
Moriarty
Moriarty
Ain't It Cool Movie Reviews

Spielberg applies his so-called 'magic touch' to the picture and produces something genuinely charming and sweet.

Full Review Source: Aisle Seat | comment Comment
06/16/04
Mike McGranaghan
Mike McGranaghan
Aisle Seat

Fans of old fashioned filmmaking, in the grand tradition of Frank Capra and Billy Wilder, will find much to enjoy here.

Full Review Source: Apollo Guide | comment Comment
06/23/04
Jamie Gillies
Jamie Gillies
Apollo Guide

leaving you feeling like Viktor, stranded in nowheresville, able to make do while you have to, but looking forward to your ticket out.

Full Review Source: Arizona Daily Star | comment Comment
06/18/04
Phil Villarreal
Phil Villarreal
Arizona Daily Star

Everything about this movie feels forced.

Full Review Source: Arizona Republic | comment Comment
06/17/04
Bill Muller
Bill Muller
Arizona Republic

The Terminal isn't terminal, but it comes close to flat-lining a few times too many.

Full Review Source: Atlanta Journal-Constitution | comment Comment
06/17/04
Eleanor Ringel Gillespie
Eleanor Ringel Gillespie
Atlanta Journal-Constitution

...a fairytale triumph about the immigrant experience in America...

Full Review Source: Atlantic City Weekly | comment Comment
06/28/04
Lori Hoffman
Lori Hoffman
Atlantic City Weekly

Seeing The Terminal is like experiencing an uneventful flight: The trip was pleasant but not delightful, and you're happy to deplane at the other end.

Full Review Source: Austin Chronicle | comment Comment
06/20/04
Marjorie Baumgarten
Marjorie Baumgarten
Austin Chronicle

A vacant slog--audiences should be rewarded with free travel miles just for sitting through it.

Full Review Source: Bangor Daily News (Maine) | comment Comment
07/06/04
Christopher Smith
Christopher Smith
Bangor Daily News (Maine)

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Big Picture Big Sound | comment Comment
12/27/07
Joe Lozito
Joe Lozito
Big Picture Big Sound

The Terminal is a movie that asks you to suspend yourself from belief for a couple of hours and head into kind of a movie schnookie woo-woo world...

Full Review Source: Blunt Review | comment Comment
06/20/04
Emily Blunt
Emily Blunt
Blunt Review

Like so many of Spielberg's films, it's the dream of a brilliant child, and a lovely place to tarry before returning to adulthood.

Full Review Source: Boston Globe | comment Comment
06/18/04
Ty Burr
Ty Burr
Boston Globe
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Boston Phoenix | comment Comment
06/19/04
Boston Phoenix
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by source; UK critics are listed first)
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