Rating: 
Summary: Why was this film mis-titled?
Review: Being led into a deception is annoying enough. Leading yourself down some primrose path to confront disappointment is downright awkward. "Tom Hanks" must mean this will be a film worth investment, right? Wrong on nearly all counts. Tom Hanks is a fine actor. He does a memorable job in this film. He conveys the agony of isolation with lively intensity. The viewer shares his struggles with sympathy as he draws you into his daily acts of survival. Hanks is a superb actor. The pity is the material he's been given to work with. No matter how adroitly he conveys the desire to survive in isolation, carrying the memory of his abandoned love, Helen Hunt, the film is predictable from start to finish. There isn't a single surprise in this latest entry in Hollywood's Robinson Crusoe sweepstakes. The transformation of a shallow man into someone bringing hidden abilities to bear on a difficult situation is a favourite Hollywood theme. If it's done well, we can all identify with the individual. This is Hanks' special talent. He's done it elsewhere, and he does it superbly here. A mid-level executive in the FedEx courier firm, he operates under a compulsion to succeed. He does it by driving others to match his pace. Thrown on his own resources on a lonely Pacific island, Chuck Noland must develop new skills and strengths. They're not readily forthcoming as Hanks expresses so well. When he finds FedEx packages from the wrecked aircraft, his hesitation at opening them is manifest. It must be the ultimate transgression for a FedEx employee. Ludicrous as the discovery of ice skates seems, of course they prove valuable tools on the island. The transformation of another find, a volleyball, into his alter ego is pure Hanks. He carries the film in splendid isolation. That isolation, given the cast, is this film's greatest shortcoming. Bringing Helen Hunt into this film in "bookend" scenes at the beginning and end is to do an outstanding actress a great disservice. Instead, we are given Bill Broyles' experiences in survival schools imparted through Tom Hanks. Had Zemekis goaded Broyles into broader vision, this film might have been redeemed. Hunt could have portrayed her grief at his loss and whatever led her to follow the path ultimately revealed. Slipping from the level of work he achieved in earlier films, Broyles here slips into simplistic and trite formulas. Hanks calls "I'll be right back!" to Hunt before entering the aircraft. Did any viewer doubt they wouldn't see each other until the film approached its finale? Worse, the caption "Four Years Later" flashes on the screen and you know what must inevitably follow. Hunt's other "bookend" appearance begins with her fainting, a totally inappropriate event for someone who exudes strength. Even relaxed, Hunt couldn't assume a "shrinking violet" role, yet Broyles forces that unlikely role here. If you're a Hanks fan, this is a film to view once. If you're a Hunt fan, you may enjoy the brevity of her appearance, which is hardly to her credit. If you want a captivating story, well presented and rich with innovation, you'll be only partly satisfied. Watch it once and pass it on. Anyone wishing to own a copy may contact this reviewer for a bargain deal. Perhaps you could also explain why the film's title is incorrect grammar. "Cast Away" is the action of someone disposing something. "Castaway" is what Tom Hanks plays.
Rating:
Summary: Doesn't measure up to my hopes, but it does "hook" me in.
Review: I too am a believer that this film could have been much better. Here's my main problem with it. Even for those who have yet to see it, you already know that Tom Hanks has apparently been stranded on an island and (due to the nature of Hollywood scripts) it's safe to assume that he will at some point be rescued. But do you get to see the manner in which he is rescued? Do you get to see him engage in his first human contact in over four years when he gets rescued? NO, YOU DON'T! You sit through this long and quiet movie, hoping for a wonderous rescue, and you don't get it. Quite simply, I don't understand it. I do think though that Tom Hanks' peformance is great, and his struggle on the island is very compelling. I just can't believe how this movie builds you up to such a high point, and then it comes crashing down with a big thud.
Rating: 
Summary: BETTER THE SECOND TIME AROUND
Review: Last year at the Oscar's, I was worried that Russell Crowe or Geoffrey Rush would lose to Tom Hanks for the best actor Oscar. Don't get me wrong, Hanks is a phenomenal actor. Most consider him to be the best actor of our generation (after all, no one else, besides Spencer Tracy, has ever won back to back Oscars). But him picking up a third trophy for Cast Away?!? Come on. He was a hundred times better in the Green Mile, and he wasn't even nominated. But....Cast Away recently premiered on HBO. Thank God I decided to watch it again. My opinion of this film has drastically changed. This movie did extremely well at the box office, but I still think many people missed the gist of the film. Perhaps I did, because my first reaction wasn't all that great. I believe Cast Away is one of those films that has to grow on you. The more you watch it, the more you'll "get it". The whole movie, in my opinion, can be summed up in the last thirty seconds of the film. Hanks is standing in the middle of the intersection and looks directly into the camera, with this worried, yet hopeful look on his face. A terrific way to end the movie. It says so much without saying anything at all. As for the DVD itself, it's great. A double disc packed full of extras. Pick it up. If you have doubts about seeing this movie, don't worry. So did I. But I think after you watch it a few times, you'll be able to appreciate it more. When I first watched it in the theater, I really couldn't understand why it received all of the accolades it did. Now I know why. Any actor's performance who can carry a movie without hardly any dialogue is worth a look. Hanks is superbe, the music is heartwrenching, and the underlying moral is great. In fact, the movie Cast Away isn't even really about a man deserted on an island----it's much deeper than that. The beginning can be slow at times, but the movie itself is worth a viewing --- especially for the scene in which Chuck must say goodbye to Wilson. Some may poke fun at it, but they were missing the entire point. Cast Away is a movie that should have us all thinking about what we value in life. As Bob Zemeckis said, "Surviving might be easy, but it's living that's tough".
Rating:
Summary: Nobody understands the "Wings Artist"
Review: Who was the Peterson guy her other FEDEX package went to in Russia where Hanks "happened" to be? Did he know her or Peterson? And she was Helen Hunt in a makeover, right? So was she his ex-fiances sister? Twin separated at birth?
Rating: 
Summary: Brilliant Acting.......
Review: Tom Hanks does a terrific job as the leading (and almost only) role. The story however, is one of the worst I had ever seen in a high budgeted movie. There are so many inconsistancies that it's completely stupid to be considered a work of possible non-fiction. And since the movie is based on the theory that it can happen to anyone, the inconsistencies totally ruin the film.
First of all, the undertow fro the plane sinking would have sucked him down the moment he crashed. Second, Why would anyone keep a picture of Helen Hunt in a cave with them as their symbol of hope? Third, if he HAD survived and been rescued, the moment he stepped onto land he would have been put in jail for opening all those fed ex packages that didn't belong to him! and finally... DO YOU REALLY THINK ANYONE THAT WENT THROUGH WHAT HE WENT THROUGH WOULD END UP LETTING A PLANE TAKE THEM HOME!? I would have demanded that they use the boat that rescued me take me straight to a limo that would have brought me to jail for opening mail that didn't belong to me!
Rating: 
Summary: Castaway 2000
Review: I liked the show but the most important reason is there was a blooper in the end of the show as Helen Hunt runs down her drive way in the rain she is yelling Jack Jack but Tom Hanks name was Chuck and when she got in the truck she referred to him as Chuck. (BLOOPER)
It was good but he spent to much time on the ocean and that got to be boring.
Rating:
Summary: Hanks is great but sloppy ending
Review: There's so much to praise in this movie about a modern, ambitious man who, isolated on a hostile island, must learn how to survive and find the hidden depths of his humanity. He bonds with a volleyball, "Wilson," which represents many things: the protagonist's need for a friend, conscience, and is, with its blood-stained face, even a reminder of the protagonist's mortality. So much of the struggle on the island is so universal that people from all over the world could follow the sequences without the aid of subtitles. Primitive and biblical themes are wonderfully developed: the making of fire, the arduous learning process of trial and error, the ecstasy of tasting food as if for the first time. During the protagonist's struggles he learns to grieve and to find a cathartic way to unleash all his pent up sorrow, as when he loses his volleyball companion "Wilson," and in doing so he finds his humanity. So much detail and mythic power informs the island sequences that it is a frustrating disappointment when we arrive at the movie's final act, the protagonist's attempt to patch things up with his girlfriend, who, having thought he had died in a plane crash, has married and borne children. This final act is sloppy, sappy, and arbitrary and seems to have been made by a lesser director. Nevertheless, I still recommend this film for the very compelling island sequences, which highlight Hanks' talents better than I have ever seen.
Rating:
Summary: Tom Hanks Puts Special Touches Into This Role..
Review: 'Cast Away' is an emotional and more relatable step up from 'Lord of the Flies' and your average "shipwreck" movie. Chuck Noland (Hanks) is a busy Federal Express top employee, who's made this time-consuming and often unpredictable job his long-term career. The first plus point before the story takes over is that Hanks is not a man with nothing, who would not see surviving on his own instincts for a long time some sort of religious awakening. He does his best to squeeze his girlfriend (Helen Hunt) into a schedual so busy around the Holidays that he carries a beeper with him to Christmas dinner. On a last minuet flight for Fed-Ex on Christmas eve, a long and realistic plane crash scene leaves him stranded on a deserted island in the Pacific. In the 80s' especially weve scene Hanks' phenomenal comedic abilities, his obvious talent at drama and the trademark ways about him that, well...make him Tom Hanks. All are rolled into one in this movie, when he uses his only resources on the island provided by nature..(and a few Fed-Ex packages that followed him to shore) to stay alive. To tell the truth I thought a big jump in time as you'll see, would ruin the movies' genuine effect...but it does hardly that. I think after his rescue and return to what is now a strange place to him..the entire movie is summed up in a quiet speach he gives to a friend. He realizes that the harshes he faces returning to civilization cannot take-over him, that he has to stay alive. My favorite part would be Hanks striking a candle lighter, beginning to realize all of the things in life he'd taken for granted before his four years on the island. Dont let editorial reviews or Roger 'Fat' Ebert's thoughts on the movie decide for you whether or not to watch 'Cast Away'...sometimes I think movie-reviewers are payed to hate everything. 'Cast Away' is a refreshing and meaningful comedy/drama that will be well appreciated in the years to come...just think of ALL Tom Hanks' recent movies....
Rating:
Summary: What's missing from this movie (and from the 500+ reviews)?
Review: The director wants us to believe that a person who experiences an airline crash and near-drowning, then four years of isolation and hardship, can do so without once uttering the name of God. I suspect that even an atheist, when confronted with these traumas, would eventually find solace in some kind of supernatural being. Proof: What three words were most often heard when New Yorkers witnessed the collapse of the Trade Towers? "Oh, my God!"
I'm not a religious person. But I do know that no culture in the history of man has failed to find, invent or create some kind of deity. But Hanks' character spent four years with no companionship of any kind, and the only way he used his mind was to learn basic survival skills? No philosohical ruminating, no deep thoughts, no epiphanies? Sorry, this is just too hard to believe.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent movie.
Review: I liked a lot this movie, it is amazing what Tom Hanks had to put up with in order to get realism to his character. The airplane crash scene is spectacular.
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