Movie review: Terminal

 Taking place in a train terminal at night; 2 male assassins, a female assassin, waitress, janitor, crime boss, and teacher have their lives intertwined at the hands of a criminal mastermind with a taste for revenge.

Margot Robbie (Annie/Bonnie), Simon Pegg (Bill), Dexter Fletcher (Vince), Mike Myers (Clinton/Franklyn), Max Irons (Alf), Katarina Cas (Chloe), Nick Moran (Illing), Les Loveday (Young Clinton), Jourdan Dunn (Conejo).

Terminal begins with a bit of back-story or plot setup that makes little sense. Roll credits and from there the storyline begins executing. Along with some plot points we get character introductions and depth begins to build quickly. The rest of the film is a quirky journey revealing more plot tidbits punctuated by some action and drama. Toss in a plot twist or two and the film wraps up fairly well.

Acting was solid with Robbie and Pegg both delivering nicely. Although Terminal is a quirky unusual film, it was nice to see Robbie in a different type role. Fletcher was well cast, as was Irons and both added nice depth to the film. Myers was unusual as always, fitting the film well. Cas, Moran, and the remainder of the supporting cast were enjoyable.

Camera work, sets, and backgrounds are all dark in the film noir genre without being industrial. Action and effects are fitting and nicely done and engaging. Dialogue is all over with some dark humor, plenty of challenging accents, and frequent fast subject changes. Sound and soundtrack are appropriate and well done.

Terminal ends up being a film that is difficult to define. It would be easy to call it a crime drama however,  with the film noir theme, very good cast, and dark plot, there is a lot more depth to the film.

With plenty of violence, gore, foul language, and adult situations, save this one older teens and above.

Released: 2018
Reviewed: 5.10.21
Star rating: 3 out of 5
Genre: Drama, Crime, Thriller, Film Noir

copyright ©2021 Dave Riedel