A strangely unsatisfying journey of isolation and return.

Rating: 4/10 (7 January 2001)

First off, I'm using the previews for Cast Away's as a guideline for not revealing any of the film's plot. The sad thing is that the previews pretty much show everything that happens in the film. If by some chance, you missed them, they basically show Tom Hanks, a Fed-Ex worker, going down in a plane crash and then getting stuck on a deserted island only to return years later. This is an exciting premise, the idea of a fast-paced worker from fast-paced world being thrust into an isolated world where time slows and daily decisions become paramount to survival. Unfortunately, Cast Away manages to cheat the audience at every turn by focusing on the least interesting aspects of being forced into isolation and what how it will affect a person once they return. How would you react to the first person you saw in four years? How about your first hot shower? How about your first hot meal that wasn't fish or coconuts? You can keep asking yourself because, in a odd story-telling decision, the creators of Cast Away have chosen to skip over this entire portion of Tom Hank's story. What the audience is left with is a protagonist we learn little about, his initial life on a deserted island, and a return to civilisation that lacks any dramatic punch. A real disappointment considering the talent involved.