Terminal is a 2018 crime thriller following the twisted tales of a group of strange and dangerous people in the heart of a dark city.
Ah yes, the quirky crime thriller stuffed with eccentric characters and colorful dialogue. It’s a time-honored tradition it would seem, with the movies taking to giving it a new spin every few years or so, and while a few have reset and redefined the genre (Quentin Tarantino‘s done it more than once), few really make a mark. Enter Vaughn Stein‘s stylistic foray into the lot, a darkly comedic and grimly violent comic book of a movie that is heavy on the wordplay and shock value but light on just about everything else.
In an unnamed seedy city, Annie (Margot Robbie) is an assassin wanting to make her name a little more prominent that it already is. To do so, she’s got to get in good with a local crime lord named Mr. Franklin, a mysterious figure who handles the contracts. He’s never seen, just a voice, and he offers his killers jobs via riddles and clues. He makes a deal with Annie, one involving fellow hitmen Vincent (Dexter Fletcher) and Alfred (Max Irons), scheming them with a bit of creativity to lure them close. Meanwhile, as Annie poses as both a waitress at a train station diner and stripper at a nearby club, in comes Bill (Simon Pegg), a former school teacher who hasn’t long to live, striking up a relationship with the waitress Annie, he a weak man that she finds all too tempting to toy with.
First things first, Terminal is at least a curious collection of production design, the neon flare and retro-future sets giving the whole thing a kind dark theatrical aura, which is made all the more impactful by its numerous conversations. Mixed up in this are all kinds of switchbacks and double-crosses that see Mr. Franklin manipulating the players while Annie strives to make it clear she is completely off her rocker, amping up the craziness to insane levels. Other characters show up, like a couple of criminal buffoons who look to make a score (played by Thomas Turngoose and Matthew Lewis), and Mike Myers of all people as a questionably trustworthy janitor, making his first on-screen film appearance since 2009’s Inglourious Basterds.
Despite the knee-jerk expectation that this could be a whacky action flick, it is not, as most of the story is all about the words, with Annie engaged in all sorts of back and forths. She uses her wily verbal skills to lure poor Bill into dark corners, having him consider ways to end it all or go out as a killer. These exchanges are laced with bits of existentialism and have loads of potential to be a lot more weighty than they are. A suitcase from Mr. Franklin becomes a player in the gaggle as well, filled with a bit of mystery, once more adding some opportunities to layer this more deeply, but it all sort of feels superficial.
No doubt, Robbie dives deep, as she often does, she seemingly embracing this kind of lunatic fringe sexual madness in her characters of late. She’s easily the best thing going though there’s no doubt great joy in seeing Myers throw in some of his trademark quirkiness. Terminal is packed with good ideas but it’s just visually unpleasant to watch and drives into dead-ends far too often to make this one to recommend.