“The Terminal” isn’t a bad movie. It’s far from it. Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg sell films based on name recognition alone. Look at their last collaboration starring Hanks — 1998’s “Saving Private Ryan.”

That one was a tour de force of movie making, set a new precedent in movie violence and told a great story.

“The Terminal” is about Viktor Navorski, who because of a coup in his homeland, is unable to return to his country and is stuck in an airport for several months.

This film is loosely based on a true story of an Iranian in Charles De Galles Airport in Paris.

The first 20 minutes show Viktor (Hanks) learning of his unfortunate situation. He discovers that his passport is no longer valid but tears up only briefly—although that alone would be emotionally straining on any already frustrated passenger.

The rest of the movie plays like some sort of sugar-coated whimsical world not attached to the realities of this one. Stanley Tucci, who also starred with Hanks in 2002’s “Road to Perdition,” shines as the cynical Frank Dixon of Homeland Security, who displays deft in his job, which is to single out “suspicious people.”

He is vigilant in his job and enforces it to the most minor of details. When Navorski enters his life, Dixon tries repeatedly to rid himself of the nuisance.

This character interaction ends with a real head banger — meaning you get the urge to bang your head against the seat in front of you at the theater.

Within the chaos blooms a romance. Catherine Zeta-Jones plays a flight attendant, Amelia, who can’t seem to find a man who would offer her stability.

When she meets Navorski time and time again in the airport terminal, she believes she has found Mr. Right.

The other secondary characters also fit into the fantasy motif of the film, and barely make themselves noteworthy. One character is memorable if only for his eccentric nature as an actor — Gupta Rajan, played by Kumar Pallana. Pallana made an enjoyable appearance in 2001’s “The Royal Tenenbaums,” but will most certainly be forgotten in “The Terminal.”

Although the film is a dramatic comedy, the drama never really rears its head. Lighthearted moments connect each scene and very little drama ever develops. If anything substantial comes out of this movie, it is the revelation that the airport is a very boring place.

As dynamic as it is with the thousands of people passing through it, no one ever sticks around long enough to care about them.

That said, “The Terminal” is not a complete loss. The movie does offer a few laughs, but doesn’t keep you chuckling long after you finish watching it.