Good performance by Tom Hanks, good sequences on the deserted island, but the movie really only succeeds by a margin. *** (out of four)

Rating: 7/10 (13 March 2001)

CAST AWAY / (2000) *** (out of four)
By Blake French:
(this comment on "Cast Away" does contain material of a spoiling nature).
"Cast Away" starts on a fairly entertaining note, but devolves into a contrived love story and becomes buried in tedious sequences in which its characters have nothing to do. The main character spends most of the movie's dreadfully long running time alone on a desolate island-but we determined from trailers and TV ads that the character is retrieved after four years, which kind of eliminates the tension of whether or not he will get off the island alive.
Tom Hanks plays Nick Noland, a systems engineer for Federal Express who intends to wed his long time girlfriend, Kelley (Helen Hunt), after he returns from a business trip over the south Pacific. We are not surprised when his plane encounters a horrible storm. During one of the most intensely convincing crash sequences ever made, the aircraft plummets into the ocean below, miles off course. Nick is the sole survivor, finding a resting place on a deserted tropical island. Time passes, he builds shelter, losses hope, but nonetheless survives. If you are not aware of his eventual rescue after four years, then you are not among the movies target audience. The story really focuses on Nick starting his life over and overcoming extreme odds. He finds out that Kelley became married and the rest of society has assumed his death. Nick's determination is encouraging, but the movie needs more detailing survival on the island. The scenes on the island are the movies best. The film is very careful not to become idle. There are constantly new situations and conflicts being introduced, even though their scenes are often slow moving and tedious.
Tom Hanks does an exceptional job as the only real character in the film, all other's are plot devices. There are a few attempts to introduce side characters, but in a movie like this that is nearly impossible, although the actors do a reasonable job with what little screen time they behold.
Director Robert Zemekis stays focused on a consistent narrative instead of going back and forth between characters, like the mediocre "Six Days, Seven Nights." This is a thought-provoking situation, but most of us already know how the plot concludes. The actual conclusion itself is actually dissatisfying and inconclusive. "Cast Away" is still a good production, well made, and beautifully crafted. I liked the directors consistent style and focused narrative, the plane crash sequence, and I give the film a marginal recommendation.