Since there are a few reviews already, I was tempted to be a little lazy and simply add my comment but perhaps it would make me more comfortable with writing my own to do justice to the impression the movie left on me. No offense.
In a nutshell, the movie is about Tom Hanks (Victor) who is visiting America on a special purpose (won’t have me telling you what!) from a country that does not speak much English and is not very politically stable. He ends up in a unique situation where his country’s government is overthrown while he is flying and hence lands into America with no country or recognized government. So he is doomed to spend his time at the Terminal.
Tom Hanks is brilliant (as usual) and plays his part very convincingly, as an outsider visiting America for the first time. The bold confident manner in which he reads out the few instructions that someone has provided him for use on entering America indicates he has heard about the country from multiple sources and is actually looking forward to being there; even if for the ’been-there-done-that’ aspect:)
Spielberg movies perhaps are viewed with a certain expectation in mind and this time, I personally thought he came up with something surprising. It had more subtle clues of mastery like the playing of Sinatra’s ’’strangers in the night’’ in the background when Hanks spends his first night at Gate 67 or the scene where Hanks is trying to size himself against the displayed suits in the Hugo Boss window - very nicely done.
What I was also impressed by was the sequence where Hanks is trying to garner information from the airport officer for a friend of his who provides him food in return - the first interaction is that of strangers but as he keeps getting more info, he gets bolder and at times even gives you a feeling he was the one actually interested in the lady!
Zeta Jones has done a good job but looks fabulous. Her character lacks depth but then her participation is restricted and does not leave a dent as such. The supporting characters are reasonably decent but I feel the movie is simply carried by Hanks and the Spielberg effect. I perhaps was most surprised when I thought some aspects of the movie were really well taken and then realized it was a Speilberg movie!!
It is a great movie for you to watch if you do not expect action or drastic effects in a movie. This is a movie to sit and enjoy.