Cinema Consults: THE TERMINAL

This film, which can be rentedfrom your local video store, israted on a scale of 1 to 4 caducei:

The

Terminal

THE TERMINAL (2004): PairingSteven Spielbergwith Tom Hanksseems like a win-winsituation formoviegoers. Butveteran film watchersshould alwaysbe on guard whenHollywood promisesa sure thing.This is certainly the case with , a movie about a displacedtraveler, Victor Navorski (TomHanks), who finds himself withouta country and stranded in a NewYork airport. While the premise isintriguingly far-fetched, the writingdoes nothing to provide its misplacedcharacters with credibility.Hanks is always enjoyable towatch, but it is difficult to buy hisportrayal of a man whose wholeworld has crumbled as his countryplunges into a revolution, and yet, iswilling to sit idly by in an airportwhile the United States sorts out hisstatus. I think that the writing has agreat deal to do with this lack ofcredibility. The storyline tries to beat once comic while handling somepretty heavy topics—this mix canonly be successful with a razor-sharpscript. Furthermore, I found itvery hard to believe the motivationof any of the characters. AlthoughSpielberg makes a sincere attemptto inject the film with sentimentality,the result seems petty at best.

Rating: 2

Lisa A. Tomaszewski,managing editor

of Physician's Money Digest, is currently

working on her PhD in literature at

Drew University in New Jersey. She is

an avid fan of film and has taught a

summer film course at Fairleigh

Dickinson University. She welcomes

questions, comments, or suggestions for

future film reviews at 732-656-1140

ext 195 or ltomaszewski@mwc.com.