Well, hello. Welcome back to another installment of our Margot Robbie filmography watch through! This week we have one that I had heard very little about. In fact, prior to embarking on this journey, I wasn’t even aware this film existed. Let’s jump right in and take a look at… Terminal (2018).
Title: Terminal
Director: Vaughn Stein
Released: May 8, 2018 (US premiere)
Runtime: 1 hour 35 minutes
Available to stream on: Pluto
Well, there isn’t really much of a plot to give a synopsis of. We have 5 “main” characters which the “plot” revolves around.
There’s the two hitmen Vince (Dexter Fletcher) and Alf (Max Irons), Bill (Simon Pegg)- the teacher with a terminal illness who wants to kill himself before his illness does, a bizarre and quirky janitor named Clinton (Mike Myers), and of course Margot Robbie as Annie the creepy and borderline crazy waitress.
Throughout the course of the film, each of their lives intersect and become intertwined with one another.
But when they cross paths, what will the fallout be?
Look, there’s no way to nicely dance around it, this isn’t a good movie.
The 95-minute run time feels like it’s 180-minutes. With so little plot, and only 5 characters, how everyone is connected is easy to determine long before the big reveal. Also, with there being only 5 characters, you’d expect some sort of depth to them as to allow the viewer to invest in them. Well, we are completely robbed of that. Everyone is shallow and stiff as a board.
Also, it feels like a waste of both Margot Robbie and Mike Myers. For Myers, he just seems horribly miscast. He’s been the funny guy for too long. There is absolutely nothing wrong with that, but placing him in this role is just a big swing and a miss. Yes, he does the best with what he is given. Although, I’d much rather have a capable filmmaker be the one directing him in a more dramatic role. When it comes to Margot, the saving grace for her is that she’s what ultimately makes Terminal (2018) watchable. However, she is just hamming it up and overacting in almost every single scene.
Now, that’s not to say that there isn’t any good at all here. If nothing else, it looks like a Neo-noir. Every scene either is dripping in neon and/or plays in and with the shadows. Looks wise, I think they nailed what they were going for. Kudos to the DP (Christopher Ross), along with the whole art and production design teams.
So, as you hopefully have gathered by now, Terminal (2018) is a film that I would not recommend. If you’re a completionist and are following along in this watch through of Margot’s filmography, more power to you. Otherwise, there are far better ways to spend 95-minutes of your time.
Well, now I want to hear from you.
Have you seen Terminal (2018)? If so, what are your thoughts on it?
Drop a comment below or reach out to me on Bluesky!
As always, you can follow me on Letterboxd to see what else I’ve been watching lately.