It's noir Jim, but not as we know it.
Terminal is set in it's own very fictional and very familiar world, a stylish and stylised fantasy concoction outwith time and space. Part LA and part London, part industrial wasteland and part nightclub strip, part 1930s and part future dystopia, the darkness of traditional noir and the gaudiness of neon. It's sparsely populated with a few odd characters. Annie (Margot Robbie), a cafe waitress with a strange line in black humour. Bill (Simon Pegg), a teacher facing up to terminal illness. Two killers for hire, Vince (Dexter Fletcher) and Alfred (Max Irons), unsure of who they are working for or who they've been sent to kill. And a creepy night cleaner in the railway station (an almost unrecognisable Mike Myers). All have their secrets, some are not what they seem to be.
Underlying these personas is a twisting plot based around revenge. But who is the avenged in all this? The final reveals explain all, some done with style, the last one somewhat overlong. There's violence, tension and a lot of very funny moments. There's a lot to enjoy. Not least from Robbie, who looks to having a lot of fun herself portraying a character of many guises around whom the others revolve.
I suspect most people will find this a love it or loathe it movie. Some will revel in the quirkiness, the artificiality, the jokes and references to other movies and genres. Others will think it's being too clever for it's own good, too self conscious and lacking substance. I'm definitely with the former group. It's a daft tale, but clever enough to be satisfying, sufficiently peculiar to have it's own idiosyncratic charm. Give it a try.
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