Rating: 
Summary: Almost five stars
Review: I would have given this film five stars except for the overdone, overwrought, hyperactive and unconvincing Russian sequence near the beginning. Brother Hanks' character comes across there as a caricature of time-obssessed executivedom. Maybe that was the intent, but it struck me as more distracting than persuasive.But then the movie moves up to near perfection, which means that it grabbed and enfolded me, much like a good book one can't put down, which is after all what I MOST want from a book or movie. Excellent job by Hanks & Company, amply pointed out by other reviewers, but I want highly to praise one aspect: the minimalist score. For much of this movie, music is absent. Welcomely absent! Replaced by natural wind, sea and nature sounds. The effect adds to the languid passage of time felt by maroonee Hanks. A very good choice, to can the music. And where there is music, it is quiet and appropriate, a most welcome antithesis to John Williamsesque blare and bombast. All in all an excellent job, and I don't think I'm an easy reviewer. I see purchase of this DVD in my future.
Rating: 
Summary: Something went wrong
Review: Could have been a good film, but something went terribly wrong. I think the screenwriter had alot of internal dialogue that he forgot to share with the audience. Long, long, very long stretches of silence and "meaningful glances" that are disconnected from the action. The relationships are fuzzy and never come to a conclusion, it's all left hanging ... the woman artist on the ranch, the former lover now married to someone else, the widowed best friend, even his relationship with his job. It's a movie about a personal journey that leads the viewer nowhere. The trailer shows the best of this film.
Rating: 
Summary: Two Stars for this "Comedy"
Review: Bravo to the makers of "Castaway" - you have really created a truly amusing film. Amusing, but only when viewed as a comedy, and not the deep and touching drama this was meant to be. The film starts off on archetypal note: a man (Tom Hanks) is so pathetically obsessed with his job at a mail company it is obvious things will change and he will become a good man in the end. Yet things take an unexpected turn on this "deep" journey when Tom Hanks' plane crashes and he drags himself to a nearby island. He is - predictably - the only survivor. Things stop being serious when Tom Hanks attempts to continue controlling all job-related things. It seems he spends the first half of the movie screaming as he speeds down a hill towards whatever mail has washed up. The best part of this movie is the friend he creates out of a ball that came from one of many packages that wash up. He gives it a little face and speaks to it, calling it "Wilson". Their relationship has both good and bad times. Like any normal couple, they fight with each other. They laugh together and cry together. The only problem is that they are not a couple; it's only a ball. Their relationship reaches its low point during a really savage fight. In the end Tom Hanks tosses his better half and it bounces out of the cave he calls home. In a wave of regret he rushes outside and frantically searches for Wilson in the dark night. The movie wraps up after Tom's return to civilization; he is driving his car (with a wilson ball inside) around in the middle of nowhere. He stands in the road signaling that he is making life-changing decisions and the movie closes on that completely undecided note. If you are in need of a good laugh, this is the movie for you!
Rating: 
Summary: Silence Please
Review: Pure beauty...this movie reflects all aspects of beauty! The deeper meaning to it all makes the movie adored by any age and audience. There was the awkward noise at the beginning, the silence, then the noise, and silence again...but it does not come together until the end. The director did a superb job, as did Tom Hanks! I give em' my ten thumbs up once again
Rating:
Summary: See It
Review: Awesome. Tom Hanks gives one of the best performances by any actor. Robert Zemeckis is brilliant. Great score. A good sense of humor as well.
One of my all time favorites. [...]
Rating:
Summary: Directorial Dud
Review: Much as I admire Tom Hanks, I knew early on that this movie was going to thud when there was a long shot of Helen Hunt on the couch watching TV and *something*, god knows what, some part of someone's anatomy (presumably Hanks) is in the foreground -- and stays there seemingly forever until we finally get a slow pan out to reveal that it is the crook of his arm. Slow pans abound, largely to no understandable point. The opening pan is interminable. Zemeckis seems to think that this sort of "tension" building adds "meaning." To me they serve the purpose of commercials--time to go to the bathroom. Zemeckis, like so many other directors now, uses the camera to comment on the story, not tell it. Ohhh, things are confusing, see how confusing the camerawork is? Ohhh, things are boring, see how languid the cameraword is? Huston, Hitchcock and all the other greats used the camera to tell the story, not to add a layer of so-called "meaning." Let me do my job as the viewer, just do your job as the director.
Rating:
Summary: Interesting Film
Review: An interesting attempt by Zemeckis. Hanks does a solid job of conveying the dementia brought on by four years of isolation. Zemeckis' decision to film the island segment in silence was well advised, and successfully evokes a feeling of isolation. One complaint I have about the editing was the heavy handed use of slow-mo - it made some of the segments seem innappropritely comical. On the other hand, I appreciated that Zemeckis chose not to dumb down the film. The ending (which at least one reviewer has complained of as trite) was intelligent and consistent with the theme of the movie (as the unopened package was most definitely a reference to the myth of Pandora, representing Hanks' hopes of returning to civilization - and his hope was what kept him alive).
Rating:
Summary: Robert Zemeckis triumphs again...
Review: There are a handful of visionary directors out there that are worth seeing every film (good or bad) that they are involved with. For me, those directors are Spike Lee, David Fincher, Oliver Stone, Spike Jonze, Steven Spielberg, the Coen Brothers, James Cameron, Stephen Soderbergh, and Robert Zemeckis. Whether the film succeeds or not is not what's important to me. What's important to me is feeling like the (money) I paid actually made me feel like I escaped for 2-3 hours from my monotonous daily routine. Robert Zemeckis is one of those few directors that succeeds in this time and time again. From the brilliance of "Contact," to the fun of the "Back To The Future" franchise, to the warmth of "Forrest Gump," Mr. Zemeckis has always had a way of telling a story that makes you think differently afterwards about your own. Without giving away any of the plot points in "Cast Away," he has managed to do so again. I guarantee when you leave the theater, (whether or not you enjoyed the film as much as I did or not) you will hug your wife a little longer that evening. You'll show your love just a little more than you normally do towards those that are most precious in your life.
Rating:
Summary: A great flick with a sad ending
Review: After his plane goes down a man is made to survive, alone, on a deserted island. After undergoing several challenges including building fires, living quarters, and obtaining food; he finally returns home where he meets his almost fiance to be girlfriend. Although I don't like the ending (which I won't give away here), this is a flick for all to see!
Rating:
Summary: depends on the crowd
Review: Really liked this movie about 5 days after I saw it originally. It took awhile for its content to "hit" me. I also saw it in a theater where the people laughed at Tom Hanks' antics, rather than sympathized, which I think really detracted from the film. It gives you a lot to think about - what you would do if you were stranded, what you'd think about, etc. Overall, I think it's a really good movie, but the plot dragged a little and I didn't like the ending (everything happened too fast and too easy).
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