The Terminal (2004)

The Terminal tells the story of Viktor Navorski (Hanks), a visitor to New York City from Eastern Europe, whose homeland erupts in a fiery coup while he is in the air en route to America. Stranded at John F. Kennedy International 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... (DreamWorks)
Cast and Information
Directed By: Steven Spielberg
Written By: Andrew Niccol, Sacha Gervasi
Starring: Stanley Tucci, Tom Hanks, Zoe Saldana, Diego Luna, Michael Nouri, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Chi McBride, Jude Ciccolella, Guillermo Díaz, Barry Shabaka Henley, Eddie Jones, Kumar Pallana
Genres: Romance, Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Where to Stream

Stars | User | Rating | |
11 | ![]() |
djross | 15 0th |
Why would somebody decide to take a Kafkaesque ordeal and tragedy that lasted 18 years and turn it into a heartwarming bit of schmaltz about "destiny"? The distressing if not indeed revolting and horrifying aspect of such a decision seems to utterly elude the director of this piece of syrupy goop.
|
|||
5 | ![]() |
MartinTeller | 38 5th |
Stupid. An unstoppable barrage of product placement. Tom Hanks lays it on way too thick, and the in-your-face multiculturalness of his little airport clique was groan-inducing. Stanley Tucci was so absurdly evil, I'm surprised he wasn't given a handlebar moustache to twirl. The movie is interesting when it stays focused on the resourcefulness of its main character... unfortunately it quickly abandons that angle to stray into more heartstring-pulling territory.
|
|||
5 | ![]() |
Paxton | 48 17th |
Spielberg: I bet I can make a somewhat boring situation entertaining! No killer animals, no whips, no aliens; just fine acting and competent direction. You'll love it! Me: (mimics yawn) Spielberg: Why didn't you just really ya(actually yawns)(frowns) Me: (smiles)
|
|||
4 | ![]() |
BillyShears | 70 53rd |
Stanley Tucci's character is probably the guy who waved all those 9/11 hijackers through and now over compensates for every single thing.
|
|||
3 | ![]() |
Magb | 50 15th |
I suppose this could potentially have been good, but Spielberg didn't manage to make it any interesting at all. It's just predictable and boring.
|
|||
3 | ![]() |
overrated | 30 21st |
It's as lifeless as an actual airport terminal, I'll give it that.
|
|||
2 | ![]() |
fuxoft | 45 20th |
The worst movie Spielberg ever directed.
|
|||
2 | Shilpz | 85 55th |
|
A wonderful story of a Man who is a foreigner in every way to the american soil but not a foreigner in the basic shrewdness of human mind. A Man who is very good at heart and intelligent comes out of a very dicey situation a winner who wins many friends even tho he has no adequate understanding of the language. The guy who is forced to live at the airport due to war in his homeland and coz the embassy cannot give him any visa to any foreignland due to the ongoing war in his homecountry.
|
|||
2 | ![]() |
HalfJapanese | 50 13th |
Hey, me Tom Hanks, me speaka in Eastern European accent in zany rom-com. Like-a alla my movies, feel made to bait Oscar nominations.
|
|||
2 | ![]() |
critickerkaw | 93 75th |
A really interesting idea for a movie. It is worth seeing even if only for Tom Hanks' remarkable performance and for the incredibly determined, honest and kindhearted character he portrays. A real "message movie" about what can happen to the average, innocent people when politicans tangle.
|
|||
2 | ![]() |
purgatos | 56 25th |
So forgettable that I saw it under a year ago and had to have the whole plot explained to me before exclaiming 'oh yeah, I have seen that!'.
|
|||
1 | svicciarelli | 75 21st |
|
Minor Spielberg. Interesting but inconsequential.
|
|||
1 | ![]() |
jimmynmu | 59 38th |
The Terminal seemed to be a strange project for Spielberg to tackle. The results aren't too memorable, although Hanks' character does have some charm.
|
|||
1 | ![]() |
DBibby | 30 3rd |
A real disappointment given the talent involved. One can only assume a lot was left on the cutting-room floor given how muddled the film was.
|
|||
1 | ![]() |
irvinejump | 5 3rd |
Just offensive (and a true story)
|
|||
1 | ![]() |
Carpetgiant | 82 48th |
I guess if I'm going to spend one hundred and twenty eight minutes at an airport (and not actually go somewhere), I'd like something interesting to happen. Something along the lines of a deranged bomber on a plane; a pilot having a heart attack and crashing his plane into the cockpit of a Boeing 747, killing members of the flight crew and blinding the pilot; or a hijacking that goes terribly wrong, resulting in the plane getting trapped under a hundred feet of water. Something like that.
|
|||
1 | MunchForever | 40 11th |
|
Meh. I thought I would enjoy this more but really didn't care for it. It really have a sense of direction and to tell you the truth the fact that most, if not all, of the movie takes place inside an airport is fairly bland to me.
|
|||
1 | ![]() |
gtown1479 | 44 3rd |
Its amazing what you can do in an air terminal.
|
|||
1 | ![]() |
AnnMovie | 92 71st |
I really like this movie. It's cute and funny. Hanks' character is great! Motivated, independent, moralistic, with loads of initiative! Hanks does a wonderful job - again, I see him as Viktor and not other characters he's played in the past. It's a different movie - not a true comedy, not a true romance, not a drama, but it's sweet and touching.
|
|||
1 | ![]() |
vespera23 | 70 30th |
Forrest Gump, only Tom Hank's character's disability is being foreign rather than mental retardation.
|
|||
1 | ![]() |
sharpcool | 40 11th |
When Spielberg's trite M.O. began to grate on me.
|
|||
1 | Danon | 70 38th |
|
I think this movie is charming. Tom Hanks does a great job with his character. Stanley Tucci is also good, and Kumar Pallana is a nice touch. I like when Spielberg takes on a personal story like this. These are the movies that really show his skill as a director, when he steps away from the blockbuster films he is so well known for. I think it's a really enjoyable watch.
|
|||
1 | ![]() |
Tig3rGirl | 85 64th |
Would have been better without Catherine Zeta Jones.
|
|||
1 | ![]() |
chemtrails | 50 38th |
Featuring baggage handlers of several ethnicities
|
|||
1 | ![]() |
SirRobbie | 50 8th |
I actually like the lighter and more sentimental side of Spielberg's filmography: "Catch Me if You Can", "War Horse" and of course "Always", but here the ship has sunk completely. Too predictalbe, too cheesy and poorly written (the idea for the story was nice, though). Hanks and Tucci saved it a little but that's not saying much.
|
|||
1 | ![]() |
JakeFace | 1 18th |
god, i think if a genie gave me one wish while i was watching this movie i would actually use it to punch tom hanks in the face
|
|||
1 | thechad0007 | 42 17th |
|
Forgetful and filled with a whole lot of "whatever." It did have a few good moments, but many times there was too much sillyness and pointlessness to hit home for me. It also dragged...I couldn't wait to be over. Though 2 hours and 8 min isn't really that long for a movie, that amount of time stuck in "The Terminal" was overkill to me.
|
|||
1 | Omringo | 35 6th |
|
Give me a break
|
|||
1 | ![]() |
Wezzo | 91 83rd |
I remain a sucker for schmaltzy character drama, and this rates among the finest. A cute, back-of-postage-stamp story that really works in two-hour format. Hanks is gold.
|
|||
1 | ![]() |
deliz | 81 70th |
I enjoyed it.
|
|||
1 | ![]() |
davidysteph | 7 7th |
Tom Hanks adoption of an Eastern European ethnicity only borders on offensive, but extends well into unconvincing and distracting territory. The films moderately engaging premise at first succeeds in generating some amusing scenes. But as the sappy main storyline becomes the focus, the unbelievability becomes eye-rolling, the dialogue cliched, and the drama boring and predictable. Our protagonist is a scary person.
|
|||
1 | msdstc | 35 36th |
|
Steven misfires.
|
|||
1 | ![]() |
Haruhi | 16 9th |
(2014 Watch) Terrible in every manner.
|
|||
1 | ![]() |
joel-w-m | 4 12th |
Product placement and kinda cringe-y "foreign person in America" schtick aside, this could've been a good film if it cut a half hour of its runtime and just stuck with the "happy-go-lucky guy living in an airport" narrative. Alas, as it is we get on top of it not one but two baffling romances (one ending in a wedding after literally no relationship, one weirdly melodramatic: "Just stay away from me, Viktor") and an out-of-nowhere climactic plot point that's only introduced with 20 minutes left.
|
|||
1 | ![]() |
dardan | 23 11th |
Rewatched a bit of this 6-7 years after I first saw it. Lowered the score with 22 points and am disappointed in my 14yo self that I didn't recognize how false and simple the notes were with which Spielberg attempts to steer our emotions.
|
|||
1 | ![]() |
Byder | 58 35th |
This movie is only 2 hours long but I think whole empires rose and fell in the time it took me to watch it. There is an undeniable charm to the misadventures of Viktor Navorski but the ending was coated in too much sugar.
|
Average Percentile 46.4% from 12117 Ratings | ![]() |