Absolutely, positively ho-hum

Rating: 6/10 (26 December 2000)

Greetings again from the darkness. I feel cheated. A great actor, first rate director, monster budget, the Dreamworks production team and a tropical island, and all that results is a two and a half hour commercial for FedEx. Is this where our movies are headed? Tom Hanks should feel cheated too. He takes a year off to lose weight and grow hair, and he gets to throw a spear and lay on a wooden raft. Please. On a positive note, Zemekis does provide us with a wonderfully executed plane crash sequence. I felt like I was THERE as Hanks struggles for air. Hanks has developed into a remarkable actor. In the few scenes with other people, his skills overwhelm every one of them - including Helen Hunt. Why the need to skip FOUR years? The cheap stunt to make us feel Hanks' desperation from the previous year could easily have been a remarkable scene in the movie. My tidbit on this one involves Fred Smith, CEO of FedEx playing himself in one scene. Was this his price to have his company's brand stamped all over this film? Or did he receive endorsement funds and have his ego stroked? Overall, this is a very mediocre movie, that proves with enough money, even mediocrity can be slickly filmed.