Hanks at his best!

Rating: Null/10 (14 January 2002)

Judging from other comments already posted, 'Cast Away' has touched as many people as it has left others mildly indifferent. I watched it in the cosiness of my living room, on a pretty smart digital wide screen TV, and found it riveting.
It is a bit long and disjointed, and the least that could be said is that the transitions between consecutive periods in the movie are too abrupt. I guess this can happen when one tries to cover several years in a two-and-a-half hour piece, but the lack of smooth transitions destroys the rhythm of the movie.
So why did I find it riveting? First and foremost, Tom Hanks makes an outstanding Robinson Crusoe. Credible from the first minute to the last, he adds to a great acting performance the physical prowess of changing body shapes. One minute a chubby, over-fed executive, the next a survivor close to starvation.
The credibility of his acting brings out one of the main messages of the movie: Corporate America and the pseudo-comfort it creates (but which comfort does Chuck Noland enjoy when travelling from continent to continent in the back of a FedEx aircraft?) mainly serves the purpose of alienating human beings by destroying their relationship to nature.
Ok, some of you will find this statement far-fetched, and Chuck Noland certainly did not crash his plane to enjoy a return to nature. However, I took the contrast between a life in the fast lane and the painstakingly slow pace of survival as a reminder that we should not rely on appearances too much, it doesn't always matter if things happen a few minutes too late.
Beyond the thought-provoking aspects of the movie, I enjoyed some superb photography and scenery, as well as a good plane crash scene. What I wasn't impressed with: too many FedEx signs around - but then, this is corporate America and Hollywood.