It’s times like this when you have to remind yourself that whenever an actor takes charge of their career, and goes out of their way to find and develop vehicles for themselves, not all of them will strike gold. Sorry to spoil it ahead of time, but yes, Terminal is not very good. Though, I do admire that someone like Margot Robbie has actively sought out weird and interesting projects that not only challenge her skills as an actor, but ones that would have a much harder time at the mercy of the studio system. It’s worked with I, Tonya, and she is continuing with films coming up like Dreamland, and the film adaptation of DC Comics’ Birds of Prey.
But before we get to those, we have Terminal, the debut from writer/director, Vaughn Stein. It’s a neo-noir with several plot lines twisting and weaving around each other. These stories involve two hitmen, Vince (Dexter Fletcher) and Alfred (Max Irons), a quirky janitor played by Mike Myers, a depressed and dying English teacher played by Simon Pegg, and at the center of all the chaos is a waitress, Annie (Margot Robbie).
The film does make a solid first impression through its lush visuals. Cinematographer, Christopher Ross, gets to go crazy in what looks like the abandoned set of a Blade Runner movie, filling the screen with colors and shadows and lights in very striking ways; with enough dutch angles to make Kenneth Branagh blush. There’s a confidence in the way the film presents itself stylistically, and I’d be curious to see what Vaughn Stein conjures up next.
Though, hopefully the writing in the next project will be an improvement. It’s strange because while it looks very heavily stylized as if it were harkening to something like comic book panels, the characters and dialogue feel right out of a post-Tarantino, or more specifically post-Guy Ritchie crime film, with the strange setting never really being touched upon or explored in a compelling way, though that’s really the least of its problems. The problem is that the film is painfully overwritten, filled with obvious metaphors, basic literary allusions, bad attempts at wit, and aggressively annoying doublespeak. It maybe channeling Guy Ritchie, but it’s being channeled by someone whose favorite Guy Ritchie movie is Revolver.
Aside from the look of the film, there are two factors that do save the film from feeling like a total waste. One is the performances. Admittedly, the try-hard dialogue does make several deliveries from the actors rather awkward, but for the most part, they make it work. It helps having a roster of people who are just effortlessly watchable. The one coming out the most unscathed is Dexter Fletcher, who is somehow able to naturally make the dialogue sound as fun and idiosyncratic as it thinks it is. Plus, it’s just nice to see Mike Myers again, especially in the context of something as bizarre as this.
The second saving grace is the final 15 minutes or so. Obviously, I won’t spoil what happens. I will just say that it is the one point in the film where it felt like it truly came alive. It goes nutty really fast, and you do end up wishing that the whole movie was operating at the same level. For anyone who can be forgiving to some of the issues I mentioned before, the finale might be enough to save the whole movie, and a part of me agrees with that notion. However, it’s a big leap, and it won’t work for everybody. I dug it, even if I had to second guess myself and wonder whether the previous 75 minutes were worth it just for that.
Terminal isn’t without merit, but it makes the overall film that much more disappointing and frustrating. I like that Robbie took a risk in bringing this project to life, I like that Stein swung for the fences creatively, but at the end of the day, I don’t think it all really works. It’s too nebulous, too bombastic, too plotty, and too hackneyed, especially given what the ultimate endgame is. It can be an amusing distraction if you have nothing else going on, maybe more so if you’re high, and it thankfully keeps everything within a reasonable 90 minute runtime. There is some fun to be had, but don’t expect this one to stick in your mind after seeing it.