Roger Ebert of the '' Chicago Sun-Times '' gave '' The Terminal '' three-and-a-half out of four stars , stating that " This premise could have yielded a film of contrivance and labored invention . Spielberg , his actors and writers ... weave it into a human comedy that is gentle and true , that creates sympathy for all of its characters , that finds a tone that will carry them through , that made me unreasonably happy " . Matt Zoller Seitz considers '' The Terminal '' , '' War of the Worlds '' , and '' Munich '' , the latter two also directed by Spielberg , as " the three best 9/11 films made in the studio system " despite the three not directly acknowledging the event " until the very last shot of '' Munich '' "
9/11
September 11 attacks
The Terminal