Engrossing

Rating: 9/10 (30 September 2006)

Robert Zemeckis will probably never again reach the heights of "Forrest Gump", but I'm glad he continued making quality movies such as this one. Like "Forrest Gump," this movie is one of a kind; it's unlikely we'll ever see another movie that takes the risks that this one did. To make a movie where over three-quarters of it is just Tom Hanks, half-naked and not talking, takes a lot of guts and a lot of skill. So did "Forrest Gump," and Robert Zemeckis pulls it off again, though not quite with the same knack for weaving sentimentality into genuine drama that he displayed with "Forrest Gump."
The first two hours or so of the movie is brilliant. Zemeckis and Hanks present us with Chuck Noland, a by-the-clock-or-die FedEx supervisor, who is obviously in love with Kelly Frears (Helen Hunt), who, just as obviously, loves him back. He boards a plane to Malaysia to deliver some packages and tells her he'll "be right back." The plane crashes in the Pacific. Chuck is the only survivor and is washed up on a deserted island. And there is where the real movie begins. We see Chuck learn how to survive and fend for himself in sequences that could have been slow and tedious but, with the realism in which they are presented, become fascinating.
Tom Hanks's performance is just plain great. He takes up most of the screen time and Zemeckis lets us see into his passion and despair. Hanks, in fact, never takes a wrong step. It is the screenplay that trips up in the last 20 minutes of the production. Some people say the ending feels tacked on. I disagree; most of the ending is just fine, and fits right into this examination of what a real person would do in a situation like this. However, a few of Chuck's lines near the end strike a forced note- not because of Hanks delivery, but because one feels that no one could say something that cheesy well.
Even so, this is quite an experience. Not as creative as "Forrest Gump," to be sure, but who cares? I don't think Zemeckis will ever try to beat his masterpiece and if he keeps making movies like this one he won't need to. This is good enough for me.