The irony of air travel is amusing. It's obviously the fastest way to get from point A to point B if the distance is greater than several hundred miles. Yet, there's a great deal of waiting involved -- through security, at the gate, on the runway, during the actual flight, getting the luggage and picking up a rental car -- that actually makes it feel longer.
It's bad enough for those on vacation, but for business people with work to do, it must feel like one lives at the airport in a continuous state of waiting. That's just one of various symbolic elements in "The Terminal," a dramedy about being stuck in such a locale.
In the high concept story from writer Sacha Gervasi ("The Big Tease"), however, the delay isn't due to heightened security checkpoints, long layovers or mechanical or other difficulties. Instead, for Viktor Navorski it's the matter of his Eastern European country being hit by a civil war. As a result, that invalidates both that country and him in the eyes of the United States. Accordingly, he can't exit the airport, either onto American soil or to return to his homeland.
He's in airport purgatory and must live the next nine months in the international lounge, which is something akin to an upscale shopping mall and eatery for travelers. Considering that's it for the movie's physical locale, some viewers may think it might get a wee or quite a bit tiresome, repetitive and/or boring watching the man deal with his unusual predicament day after day.
Yet, with director Steven Spielberg behind the camera (and continuing his recent airport fling that began with "Catch Me If You Can") and Tom Hanks in front of it (playing a somewhat modified version of his character in "Cast Away"), there's always hope that they and the rest of the cast and crew can pull it off. For the most part they do, although this fairly engaging and entertaining flick isn't without its problems.
The first, not surprisingly, starts with the premise. While the notion of such airport-based purgatory is obviously intriguing, it's never made clear why Viktor -- who bare speaks or understands any English at first -- simply doesn't bolt out the door when given the chance. After all, with no interpreter to translate the reasons for his detainment, he'd have no reason to guess he might be nabbed by immigration authorities if he left the airport.
I suppose one could argue that he senses the potential for danger, but I would have liked to have seen at least one thwarted "escape" attempt to solidify the notion of such "imprisonment." Then again, the filmmakers could have had Stanley Tucci's ("The Core," "Maid in Manhattan") security director character -- the film's token villain by default -- operating from more believable grounds about why he put and leaves Hanks' character in such limbo.
Since he's stuck, he obviously then explores his confines, meets the various characters who work at or pass through the terminal, and fashions a home away from home for himself. Some of that material is funny and other moments are slightly heartbreaking. Yet, other parts feels forced or contrived and/or come off as far too coincidental or cute. None of that's enough to ground the effort, but such problems do prevent it from soaring perhaps as high as it might have.
That's particularly true regarding the "rainbow coalition" of characters that Hanks' encounters. While there are some nice and/or funny moments involving the likes of Diego Luna ("Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights," "Y Tu Mama Tambien"), Zoë Saldana ("Pirates of the Caribbean," "Drumline"), Chi McBride ("Paid in Full," "Undercover Brother") and Kumar Pallana ("Duplex," "The Royal Tenenbaums") in the various parts, some of that and them feel too much like elements and attributes lifted from any old sitcom.
Beyond dealing with the Hanks-Tucci conflict that fuels much of the plot, the rest of the film has Viktor becoming entranced by a flight attendant who occasionally crosses his path but is unaware of his predicament.
Since she's played by Catherine Zeta-Jones ("Intolerable Cruelty," "Chicago"), I can understand why. But beyond sharing the symbolic element of being similarly trapped in airports (and her life), there's no real catalyst for him working so hard to impress her. She's fine in the role -- nicely playing the face behind the plastic, in flight smile and facade -- but I just wish there were better chemistry between the two.
That said, the weight of the movie obviously rests on those capable shoulders belonging to Hanks ("The Ladykillers," "Road to Perdition"). As he proved in "Cast Away" (that also shares a hand print element with this film), he doesn't need constant co-stars to help him carry a film. It's his portrayal of this confused, lonely, funny and determined character that makes the film easy to watch and proves once again that he's one of the best at this game right now.
Although he doesn't create the infectiously fun experience as he did with "Catch Me If You Can," Spielberg ("Minority Report," "Saving Private Ryan") pretty much keeps a tight hand on the production and gives it enough visual panache -- thanks to cinematographer Janusz Kaminski ("A.I." "Schindler's List") -- that it never gets boring. As in Spielberg's last film, composer John Williams (too many films to count) delivers another fun, and thankfully underplayed score.
While the picture begins to spin its wheels in the second half (which is mostly unavoidable considering the set-up, locale and somewhat limited story) and does feature the aforementioned problems, for the most part this is a pleasantly entertaining diversion.
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