Rating: 
Summary: "Cast Away" is brilliant and absorbing.
Review: "Cast Away" is one of those all-too rare, brilliant films that is perfectly structured, perfectly conceived, and perfectly acted. In many ways, it is like a three act play, or three short movies. The first act introduces the main character and shows his life up until his being stranded on a desert island. The second act, the major bulk of the film, is a tour de force, one man character piece about the struggles to survive all by oneself. To craft a film in which most of the action involves one actor by himself for around an hour or more of screen time, and make it absorbing, insightful, and never boring is an amazing achievement, one which can be attributed to the great direction of Robert Zemeckis and the wonderful performance by Tom Hanks, who manages to make his character both an everyman and three-dimensional, living, breathing person. It is in this second act that we really learn about this man. By seeing every creature comfort he has grown up with instantly snatched away from him, and watching a modern man have to utilize talents of survival he didn't even know he had, we the audience are rewarded with the experience of seeing a character closer than usually happens in film. The third act is the resolution: what happens when this man who has had to live a primitive lifestyle, returns to the modern world. The amazing thing is, not much has changed in terms of technology or so forth (therefore it is not a Rip Van Winkle type tale). Instead, he has changed. Watch this movie for one of the most fascinating character portrayals in recent film history,and for the great performance by Tom Hanks. Rarely does a movie so brilliantly set up a life for a character, take it away from him in a flash, thus forcing him to create a new life for himself, and then see the results when he is returned to the old one, forever now a changed man. Notice that the title is not "Castaway," the noun, but the verb "cast away," giving the movie much richer, symbolic levels of meaning than what the former would have been.
Rating: 
Summary: A unique film experience
Review: I don't think that i've ever seen a film quite like this one. And it's a real tribute to both Zemeckis and Hanks that this particular film was so effective.First i've gotta talk about the ending since there seems to be so many different opinions about it. In my mind the ending was very straightforward. Hanks was at a crossroads (in his life). To me he had definitively ended up deciding in which direction he would go despite the fact that the film ends without him embarking on his journey. The last direction that he looked is the direction he intends to pursue. I personally thought that it was a great ending. Zemeckis is to be commended since visually and graphically the film was stunning. That includes the crash, dental work, casting off, and for me the most emotional moment of the entire film is when the ship appears. I did not think, going in, that I could be thoroughly engaged and entertained by one man's experience on a deserted island. I could have done without all the FedEx stuff in the beginning. Although I realize that it was all done to show how time conscious that Hanks' character was. To me it seemed kinda like overkill. Thoroughly enjoyable.
Rating:
Summary: It should have been nominated for Best Picture at the Oscars
Review: Lots of people are saying that this movie was halfbaked, that it couldn't hold itself. Well for me it was something quite refreshing, the visuals and directing are astounding, thanks Mr.Zemeckis. The acting is great, thanks Mr.Hanks. The story is compelling, thanks Mr.Broyles. The music is superb, thanks Mr.Silvestri. and finally thanks Fox and Dreamworks for being the distributors of this great film. I liked more Gladiator but still this one I'm also buying. Better than Zemeckis's last film What Lies Beneath, I'm not saying that it was bad, just not as good as Cast Away. I almost forgot, thanking Helen Hunt for taking that supporting role and Steven Spielberg Executive Produced the film. ---
Rating: 
Summary: Umm.. I musta missed the point.
Review: Ive been a long time Tom Hanks fan. Great guy, great actor. I went into see this movie with fears and concern over the fact that supposedly most of his screen time was gonna be him silently moping his way around a deserted island. I was completely bored through almost the whole movie, constantly checking my watch for the time. The only emotion I felt at all, was when he made friends with the volleyball, and they had that split up in the ocean.. that emotion, was happiness! I found myself laughing out loud over the fact that the maker's of this movie actually thought a man/volleyball relationship would affect a audience. Just take this movie with a grain of salt, try to enjoy it, and lets put this Hanks horror behind us and move on.
Rating:
Summary: Don't Pay Attention To The Review From "Monkeyhead"
Review: The ending is what life is - unpredictable. The character found gratitude, something that most people don't have. Tom Hanks is a fine actor. The movie was good, it's as simple as that.
Rating:
Summary: Move over Survivor...this is the goods!
Review: Starting right off we see Tom Hanks rushed and chaotic life come reeling out. This opening gives us just enough time to feel somewhat sypathetic for Helen Hunt, who plays Tom Hanks' girlfriend. The real meat of the movie is of course Tom Hanks getting stranded, which happens when his plane ends up crashing. The plane scene really stands out as being so incredibley intense and almost reaching the point of horrific that it stands alone among any other plane disasters. I won't give away too much about the majority of the movie, but if you haven't seen it yet...see it! This movie is so fresh and well done that by the end of the movie you'll end up feeling sypathetic for a volleyball! The very ending is my only gripe...with a story like this it just seemed difficult to find a descent ending, and have a feeling that things have wrapped up. Although I must praise the writer of the script for not going the easy way out with a typical "Hollwood Movie" ending. Overall, this is a must for any movie fan looking for an intense, dramatic, and well acted movie about man kind's will for survival.
Rating:
Summary: Movie Fanatic
Review: To say this move was bad is not enough. Cast Away depicts Tom Hanks as the lone survivor of a plane crash stranded on a remote deserted island. If you've seen the previews or TV commercials for this movie, you would then also know that he somehow finds a way back to civilization. You would know that he was away for 4 years. I did see this movie in the theaters hoping that there was more to the movie than I saw in the commercials. I was sadly disappointed. Cast Away starts slowly given that we are all waiting for Hanks to crash land alone. Following his being stranded, Hanks engages in what can be best described as a mediocre slapstick routine showing a slow adjustment to the island. Fast-forward 4 years and Hanks is ready to get off the island... well, at least we're ready to see him get off the island since we all know he's going to somehow escape. As is Robert Zemeckis' other recent movie, "What Lies Beneath," too much is given away in the trailers. Indeed, the mystery of the movie no longer becomes whether or not he will make it back, but, in my mind, what is in that last FedEx box that he doesn't open. Sadly, Zemeckis leaves this to the imagination of the viewer. This is not a movie you need to see more than once. It's barely a movie you see. Seen the trailer? If so, that's all you need to know.
Rating: 
Summary: Pretty bad
Review: I am sorry, but those who thought that Tom Hanks should have won an oscar or other such nonsense need to see more films. His performance, most especially in the middle portion, was one-dimensional. The beginning was mildly entertaining, highly cliched and predictable. Tom shouts a lot and is generally obnoxious and insensitive. Then he ends up on the island and shouts some more. Hanks' acting technique: if I shout loud and often enough and lose weight, I'm a great actor. We were supposed to see despair, hope, weariness, introspection, anger, frustration and sorrow. What we got was a lot of crazed shouting. Loud and grating, crazed shouting. If you take out the middle portion of this movie, you have a very unoriginal, short mildly entertaining mainstream movie - with the middle, it just plain stinks.
Rating:
Summary: Hanks may star, but Wilson has my heart
Review: First impressions last. The films beginning is long, not to mention cheesy. We first meet Chuck, our hapless workaholic FedEx employee, in Moscow where he's ranting and raving about time usage. Later we meet Helen Hunt, who's his equally busy girlfriend. Over Christmas [or somewhere around it], Chuck is called away for some emergency work. Before he leaves, Helen gives him a watch. In case the viewer hadn't picked up on it, the importance, or rather unimportance, of time is pounded into us from then on. This was one factor that made me angry about the film: it seems to assume the viewer is lacking the vital brain cells needed to pick up on plot elements. After we wade our way through the drawn out opening, Chuck's plane takes a dive, and he finds himself stranded on an island. This is where the heart of the film lies. The whole point of it. So why, I ask, do the start and finish take up just as much time? Anyway, we watch as Chucky Boy moves from the stages of hope, to anger, to acceptance, and eventually to total desperation. In this desperation he creates a friend for himself, a ball named Wilson. Sounds ridiculous, and I suppose it is, but you can sympathise. You don't laugh at a grown man having a discussion with a ball. This is the mark of good story telling. But, saddly, the ending doesn't follow through. It takes too long, and suddenly the walls seem fairly appealing. You might find yourself creating your own friend, naming him Alfredo, and discussing what it's like back out in the world. The directing for the island parts is impressive, even poetic. Hanks gives a solid performance, but it could have been a bit more subtle. In fact, the whole film could have been. The DVD looks to be loaded, so if you truly loved this movie, go for it. If you have yet to see it, I strongly suggest you rent it first.
Rating:
Summary: MAGNIFICANT!
Review: .... I mean, it was a movie in which one man, talking to a volleyball, avoided feeling stupid during the whole taping! Tom Hanks is a very good actor and he made this whole movie come to life. Bravo to a magnificant performance by Tom Hanks.
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