Terminal

Right now you can watch Terminal in the US on Philo and Hoopla, and in the UK on Amazon Prime Video and ARROW — and it is funnier than its reputation suggests. The length is exactly right for the story it is telling — nothing rushed, nothing dragged out. Its 6/10 TMDB score, built from 882 ratings, reflects a title that consistently delivers. Margot Robbie sets the tone, and the rest of the cast matches it scene for scene. There is no real reason to keep putting it off — it is right there on Philo.

Whatever else is competing for your attention this week, Terminal is worth clearing space for. Terminal gets the fundamentals right first, then finds room to get weird with it. In the dark heart of a sprawling, anonymous city, two assassins carry out a sinister mission, a teacher battles a fatal illness, and an enigmatic janitor and a curious waitress lead dangerous double lives. Murderous consequences unravel in the dead of night, as their lives intertwine at the hands of a mysterious criminal mastermind who is hell-bent on revenge. Margot Robbie and Simon Pegg lead a cast that brings real weight to the material. It was released in 2018. Terminal earns its laughs from character rather than situation, which is why it does not wear thin the way pure farce tends to. It delivers reliably on what it promises, which is more than most of its competition manages.

Terminal is the kind of thing you put on in the background and end up fully watching. It stands on its own even without an obvious comparison point. A contained runtime means every scene is doing real work. Margot Robbie anchors an ensemble with real chemistry. Genuinely funny, consistently, across the whole run.