For a capsule of the plot, I'll refer you to other reviewers.

I thought the movie was funny at times, although the "man does good" storyline became a little too unbelievable after Victor begins working on a construction crew making $19 an hour.

The love interest with Catherine Zeta Jones is ultimately unsatisfying, as is the end. Victor gets to America, gets what he came for and heads home. It's an unfitting anticlimax to a lengthy wait. Jones does the best she can with a character that is about as deep as a puddle of water, and has the dialogue to match.

I kept waiting for the political lecture, since Spielberg focuses in an opening scene on the seal of the Department of Homeland Security, but it never came. Dixon, the chief "villain" in this film, is just another bumbling conniver-come-bureaucrat. Episodes of mind-numbing paperwork for foreign visitors to the U.S. are interspersed with scenes that show people who are trying to gyp the system. I didn't get the feel that there was much "post-9/11" angst in the movie at all.

Hanks can be funny, but throughout the film, I'm reminded of Robin Williams' earlier Russian-comes-to-America showcase "Moscow on the Hudson."

In the theatre tonight, I saw a lot of older couples, baby boomers and 30-somethings perhaps burned out on formulaic romantic comedies, and desiring to avoid the crash-and-burn adventure epics or Michael Moore's harangue against George Bush.

The film didn't disappoint that desire, but is hardly worth a second effort. Hanks is singular in his acting. It's his movie to waste, and he doesn't do that. But he doesn't elevate it to the level of classic film, which is probably more the fault of the weak script. The supporting cast at times seems wooden, especially the hispanic guy whose accent comes and goes at random intervals.

There are several plot points (like Hanks' job as a contractor) that are picked up and then discarded without resolution, which fits the movie's overall feel.

Another reviewer mentioned that Hanks' portrayal is Oscar-worthy. I don't really think so. Of course, much of that depends on what else is in the offing this year. Hanks is serviceable in his role as Victor, but hardly up to his level in previous films. This is definitely not this year's "Forrest Gump."