Review of The Terminal (2004) by Colson V — 01 May 2010

The Terminal starts out as a quirky, light, and sweet comedy. It's as funny as it is charming. Tom Hanks delivers a genuinely sweet performance, as does the rest of the cast, and overall, the film is a fun, entertaining, charming and humerous good time.

Then comes the half hour mark.

After this point, each scene hinges on it's pacing. Some scenes made me laugh, some scenes had me emotionally attached to these characters and what is going on to these characters, and other scenes bored me to tears. The problem with reviewing the cons to this film, is that The Terminal is a movie that is just impossible to hate! It's a quirky, touching, and charming flick that teaches important lessons (Whether intentional or not). I genuinely cared for these characters (Especially Hanks' character), and I wanted the absolute best for them all. Part of the problem with this film is the fact that Spielberg knows how to make a character study, and Spielberg made a fascinating list of characters, yet there is no payoff. It's like watching a playful and happy dog take a bath. This happy dog sits there, bored and waiting for it to end. I don't know if all dogs act like this, mine does and that is the best example I can give for an unexplainable concept.

Overall, The Terminal is both fun and entertaining, yet tedious and excrutiating at the exact same time. It's a difficult film for me to review mainly because some moments in this film are charming and funny. I guess it's like running a marathon backwards. Starting at the end of the race where everybody is cheering for you signifies the fantastic beginning, and as you keep running this race, you realize that the race is long, tiresome and isn't fun which signifies the rest of the film.

It's as best as I can describe. The Terminal is one of those rare few that I just can't review. See it for yourself and make an opinion. You don't need me.