TERMINAL is one of those student-feeling movies that thinks it's far clever than it actually is. It's a real dud of a production, stilted and awkward throughout, a movie which is made to sound like a thriller but instead turns out to be a meandering, dialogue-focused character twist. It looks cheap and fake, with dead surroundings and unrealistic backdrops. The film attempts to tell a number of micro-stories from an ensemble cast, similar to PULP FICTION, and all held together by the horrid Margot Robbie who embarrasses herself with a plummy British accent. Simon Pegg looks about 60 here while Dexter Fletcher is bored out of his head, and who can blame him? I'd enjoyed not seeing Mike Myers around for years so the merest sight of him was enough to give me the shudders. This slow, meandering film takes an age to get around to the twist ending, which is so stupid, so basic and nonsensical, that I was actively embarrassed by what I was seeing.

In a grim neon-filled dark cityscape, Bill (Simon Pegg) is terminally ill and looking for a train at an empty terminal. The janitor (Mike Myers) informs him that no train is coming that night. Annie (Margot Robbie) is a waitress leading a double life as stripper/assassin Bunny. She gives thugs Vince (Dexter Fletcher) and Alfred (Max Irons) a suitcase which leads to a devastating contract killing.

This is a live action Sin City trying to be Tarantino. It's style over substance. It needs a good scriptwriter to clean it up. I'd rather have the movie split into two movies. I really like Bill and Annie. His journey could be a dark surreal Kafkaesque affair. Annie's reveal could have been shocking but the audience already knows that she's a crazed killer. I wished that she's actually two characters that are good twin and bad twin. Also a heavily made-up Mike Myers always reminds me of Austin Powers which doesn't fit this movie. Sure, this has some comedic elements but it can't be a spoof. On the other side, Vince and Alfred have their moments but I'm not invested in their character unlike Tarantino's Pulp Fiction. This movie keeps trying to be that without the skills necessary to pull it off. The final twists don't inspire me with anything. Again the heavy makeup with Mike Myers is problematic in its suggesting and Annie is fine without the twist. She might be better off without the doubling. The reveals don't stop and I stop caring.

Nothing like a noire (feminine "e' intentional) film in a surreal setting. Much of the action intersects at the "End Of the Line" diner in the Terminal. Annie (Margot Robbie) is a waitress there and also a pole dancer. We see her in the opening in a confessional with shades of "Prom Night 2". She wants to be a hitman and the only hitman to work for Mr. Franklyn. To do this, she must dispose of a few people, the manner of which is most of the feature. There is a twist at the end, which I suspected, but the clues were minor. Also at the end we get the back story to what we just witnessed. There were clues for that too, but you would of had to know the backstory to recognize the clues.

The film includes metaphoric dialogue. "Terminal" itself has two meanings. Margot Robbie continues with her over sexed bad girl image, a Sheri Moon Zombie with class and style. This film is certainly not for everyone. I loved the neon light sets.

Guide: F-word. No sex or nudity.