The long: I had such hopes for this movie. I *knew* it was going to be another 'lone man against the elements/system/other' starring the King of the Genre and directed by the Master of the Genre, but I kept hoping for something else. I should know better by now, obviously.

To begin, the screenplay was written by a man who creates soley alternate realities--Gattaca, Truman Show, S1m0ne--and assisted by the ex-drummer for Oasis. Since neither seems to be well-suited to real life, it's no surprise that their otherworldly baby was filmed inside a behemoth designed by the man who dreamed up sets for both The Crow and The Cat in the Hat. As a Dreamworks project, this is released as another in a long line of instant classics such as The Time Machine, The Peacemaker, and The Mexican. But with Spielberg at the helm, how can I be so cruel? He gave us ET! He gave us the freaky robot-boy! He gave us...Balto? I'm sensing a theme here.

First off, this is a Disney-like fable (unlike its live parallel) and it should say so in the very beginning. It should be acknowledged everywhere--trailers, tie-ins, PR reports, everywhere. (Yes, I'm still bitter after Troy.) It should also break tradition and *not* be scored by John Williams, Steven's chief (if not only) musical collaborator since Jaws. There's a complacency in the score that induced deja vu--had I heard the score before or seen the film? And The Hanks...oh, Tommy. What happened?

href="http://forums.fametracker.com/index.php?howtopic=911&st=0&#entry49763">Other people are much more current as to what he's been doing, but a quick perusal of the body of work leads me to believe that not only has he found his niche, he defined it, redefined it, and become iconic before turning 50. Tommy, you used to be funny. You had comedy bursting thru your veins, but in 1992 you turned cranky, and then were gruff, lonely, curmudgeonly, and laconic~~all with a heart of gold, of course. I spent a chunk of The Terminal trying to place Hanks's character (since they feel recycled)--it's Jimmy. Like Viktor, Jimmy was pudgy, out of his element, incapable of clear speech, argumentative, squinty-eyed and eccentric. He befriends a non-single gal and helps her wend a way thru her romantic issues while falling in love himself. Everybody comes together to help 'ole Hanks and there's a bittersweet victory as the screen fades to black. Mrs. Douglas was a pleasant surprise; she's world-weary but kind, battling inner demons by immersing herself in Napoleonic history. The support staff in the airport includes actors