Rating: 
Summary: The Story of another Needy Man
Review: As someone who is fond of the South Pacific and the ocean in general, I was sure there would be something about this film that I might like. While there were some intriguing sequences of Tom Hanks trying to escape through a desolate island through the surf, the rest of the movie and the overall plot was so terribly corny that I left the theatre wishing I hadn't thrown away my hard-earned cash on this dribble drip-drop of a film. I guess you'd have to really love Tom Hanks to buy this DVD, and you'd also have to love films with weak plots and melodramatic overkill.
The biggest failure of this film is that it labored to set up a 'hero's journey' plot where someone enters the unkown, faces and conquers the forces death (or evil), then returns A CHANGED MAN. The problem is that character played by Tom Hanks comes back to society even more lost than when he was a castaway! I could care less about some insecure adult and his return from what could have been enlighteneing experience (but for whom it was like hell), only to follow around the first lady who catches his eye like a lost puppy dog. Tom Hanks looks so directionless about who he is and what his journey meant that his desperation for a 'soul-mate' upon his return comes off as just overly needy and sad.
I'm sure that many men of needy dispositon will love this film. As for me, I need my [money] back!
Rating: 
Summary: A good watch but nothing more
Review: Cast Away is a good film, but not one that stays with for long. Tom Hanks plays the part well (he must be the actor of the decade) but the movie just lacks that little extra to lift it above the ordinary. The DVD is a nice compilation but the making of this movie just didn't inspire me. An enjoyable movie but one I'm not likely to see again or keep in my DVD collection.
Rating: 
Summary: One of my all-time favorites!
Review: Cast Away is the story of a man named Chuck Noland who becomes the sole survivor of a plane crash and becomes stranded alone on a desert island where he finds himself struggling to survive for four years.Cast Away is a film that stands at the level of a masterpiece. There are literally no flaws in this film. The storyline, which depicts the dramatic and exciting story of a lone, stranded survivor's struggle to stay alive, runs smoothly along. The characters are well developed, the actors are talented and convincing in their roles and is a definite must-see. I guarantee you will not regret seeing this film!
Rating:
Summary: Castaway meets CBS network television's own Survivor!
Review: Tom Hanks is really good in this heartwarming and sometimes emotional adventure movie with some comedy. Where he ends up in a tragic plane crash from the south pacific ocean. Suddenly he gets flown away in a rubber boat out to sea from the terrible rain storm and lands on a deserted tropical island. Hanks really knows and finds out what's going on? That there is no one there to help him but he's all alone by himself. So he must learn on how to survive without nobody else coming to save Hanks. But except only the skills thru his own knowledge and learns to think in a desperate situation for survival. I like one part when his best friend all covered by Hanks injured red blood on this volleyball which he calls and names it "Wilson". While still being stranded on that island by opening a few delivery packages from the plane disaster he escaped out of. And another scene in this movie I loved where he starts hearing strange noises from the island coming from somewhere but it turns out just to be coconuts falling by a palm trees he notices!
Rating: 
Summary: AN OUTSTANDING MOVIE
Review: A story of having love, losing it, finding it again, and realizing its no longer yours. I cried at the end. Perhaps because I relate.
Rating:
Summary: Entertaining Movie.
Review: This is a good and entertaining movie that I have enjoyed watching several times. This movie keeps you interested even though the dialog has been kept to a minimum as he gets stranded on an island and he is alone.
Rating:
Summary: The story of a man and his love affair with a volleyball...
Review: This movie kinda reminded me of 2001: A Space Odyssey. The main difference between the two is that 2001 has intrigue, meaning, poetry, and vision. This movie, on the other hand, has volleyballs and fed ex boxes. It is hard to decide which is the better movie. I guess that what decides it for me is that the theme of boy meets volleyball, boy falls in love with volleyball, boy loses volleyball is a bit overdone. This movie certainly a worthy addition the that genre, however. I hope that I am wealthy enough someday to decide that the extra $20 million that I have burning a hole in my pocket would be best spent by paying a untalented actor to star in a [bad] movie...
Rating:
Summary: What are you thinking?
Review: This is probably the dumbest movie I have seen in a long time. Boring beyond belief. Even a horrible plane crash and a life and deasth struggle on a deserted island could save this film from excrutiating bordom. I sat through it thinking to myself who cares?
Rating:
Summary: Swept Away by Cast Away
Review: I think this has to be one of the best films I've ever seen. The direction by Robert Zemeckis is amazingly thoughtful and restrained. The cinematography really well done. And miracle of miracles, the brains are left in this film for the viewer to figure out what's going on, and the ending is not a tidy fairy-tale wrap-up. Tom Hank's character Chuck is a fattish, driven FedEx manager who races around the world and typically, sacrifices his personal life in his drive to excel at his work. He fobs off an engagement ring to his girlfriend, in the car, on his way to an emergency assignment. Not classy. But hey, he's a driven kind of guy. The occurrences in the next few hours determine his life's course forever, and that's the beginning of the real story of Cast Away. The realism of Chuck's painful adjustment to life on a coral island (cut feet, stupid injuries, waste of precious items that could serve as tools, and the scarcity of drinking water) make this far and above a typical Hollywood rendering of Robinson Crusoe. Chuck never does really come to accept and love his island. It's more a trap than a safe haven. And he's right--who's going to find him on this rock after his "three hour tour." And the film's restrained use of music; mute except for a few moments, highlights the loneliness and importance of the enviromental envelope sounds (rustling palm fronds, skittering crabs, wind, waves.) These sound serve to heighten the sense of danger, attention and utter desolation. Music would have detracted at these points and the director is so wise to avoid the trite use of music, relying instead on extremely well-done background sound. Hank's weight at the beginning of the film (he looks like he did a DeNiro style bulk-up) and subsequent loss on the island's limited diet make a great effect. The movie is sometimes painful to watch while Chuck is obviously suffering. And when he makes a brave decision to head for rescue, we cheer his fortitude. The rest of the film shows the same realism and restraint. This is a tour-de-force for Hanks, and an amazing film over all. Don't miss it. I recommend the wide-screen or full screen version due to the excellence of the cinematography and its importance to each scene.
Rating:
Summary: A pretty good movie, that strives to be much more
Review: 'Cast Away' built up a lot of excitement, interest and anticipation for me during it's first three quarters then in the last quarter all I could think to say is, 'Is that it?' It's this film's blessing however that they were able to cast an actor like Tom Hanks that will allow you to overlook some of the emotional flatness at the center. With all his charm and everyman likeability, Hanks is able to carry this movie all by himself for two-thirds of it's running time. As he always does, in every possible way, he manages to deliver to us one of the screen's most memorable characters. One who we always want to root for, one who we'll flinch with when he gets hurt, one who's emotional despair makes us want to cry, and one who's triumph lifts our spirits. He is, in my opinion, everything that Jimmy Stewart was in his day. In the role of Chuck Noland, a time-obsessed Fed-Ex executive who troubleshoots all over the world, trying to make sure the job is done quickly and efficiently, Hanks gives us what we need. He is compulsive and work-driven, but still a likeable fella, who looks out for his friends, and struggles to make it home for Christmas dinner with his girlfriend and family members. His biggest flaw that is hard to overlook is that he organizes his life around his work. Called away on an emergency assignment across the Pacific just as he's sat down to have dinner, Chuck leaves his girlfriend Kelly, played by Helen Hunt, behind, though not before giving her an engagement ring, as he departs on what promises to be a short trip. The plane ends up being blown off course and crashing after an onboard explosion. This is probably one the most well-executed and terrifying sequences in the film. Chuck survives the crash, and floats in a life raft to a deserted island. After making a few hopeless efforts to find someone else on the island, and a few pathetic attempts at making help signals, his survival skills begin emerging slowly. He splits coconuts, traps fish, builds fires, and makes use of the contents of several FedEx boxes that washed up with him. And, in one of the film's now-famous scenes, he paints a face on a volleyball and names it Wilson. Four years go by, and Hanks' physical transformation from a clean-shaven, plump ordinary man to a gaunt, skinny, bearded survivor is astounding. Every scene on the island is fascinating, especially the details of his escape on a make-shift raft, the days and days he spends trying to survive the murky ocean waters, and all the way up until that ocean tanker looms over his sun-beaten, bruised body as he lays on his fast-deteriorating raft. It is about at this point as Chuck returns home that the film loses its bottom. At first, it is interesting seeing the uncomfortable looks on his face as he is quietly trying to adjust back into his normal life, but it becomes a kind of forced bookend. As I said before, this movie would be nothing without Tom Hanks' incredible performance, and all the other actors and actresses seem to play their roles in their sleep. Even Helen Hunt as his girlfriend, is given a wafer-thin character. There is just little or no room for real development on anybody but Chuck, especially since the movie already stretches on for close to 2 and a half hours. I will say however that one of the last lines when Chuck says "I'm sad that she's not with me now, but I thank God she was with me on that island" was heart-warming. Hell, I think a tear might've trickled down my cheek. Anyways, buy this movie if you are a big fan of Tom Hanks. You will have no problem enjoying it then. For anyone else it might be a bit of a strain.
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