The better side of Zemeckis

Rating: Null/10 (28 December 2000)

We take our lives for granted. It may be normal and ordinary for us to use the instruments of necessities. The 21st century man and woman have molded with technology to survive. But what if all of the daily use of equipment is taken away from you, would you survive? With Chuck Noland (Tom Hanks) he has to escape the modern technology world and survive with very little in the new film, CAST AWAY. Chuck Noland is a Fed Ex employee who has very little time, he dictates some Russians on how speed does make a difference when it comes to delivering a package. Anc Chuck doesn't even have much time to spend the Christmas holiday with his love, Kelly Frears (Helen Hunt) since Chuck has to go overseas to help aid another Fed Ex station. On route back to the U.S., over the south Pacific the jumbo Fed Ex cargo plane crashes killing the all of the crew and nearly killing Chuck. Chuck then arrives on a deserted island, realizing that a man who was rushing with time, now has all the time in the world as he is isolated from civilization. Chuck has to find ways to survive, he writes on a giant boulder with a smaller stone, he spears fishes with a sharp bamboo stick, and it is almost a miracle when he starts a fire. With some Fed Ex boxes from the crash arriving on shore, Chuck makes the best use of them. He uses video tape for rope, a garment for a fishing net, and for companionship to keep his sanity he uses a volleyball as a head and names the ball "Wilson." I predicted back in July that CAST AWAY was going to be the better Robert Zemeckis film compared to WHAT LIES BENEATH (don't believe me, check out my WHAT LIES BENEATH review). And several months later I was right, CAST AWAY was far much better than WHAT LIES. I really enjoyed the symbolism of CAST AWAY, how can modern man survive in the wild. Zemeckis goes into much detail on how difficult it took the character of Chuck Noland to survive, with eating, shelter, and sanity. Zemeckis also shows some pretty graphic scenes on how Nick gets rid of a bad tooth. The movie is 138 minutes, and a little over a hour has Hanks alone on the island. And to carry a movie like this, a great actor needs to do a excellent performance, and Tom Hanks does it very well! Leave it to Tom Hanks to give another brillant performance in this film, which I feel should probably be his third Oscar win. Along with PHILADELPHIA, FORREST GUMP, BIG, APOLLO 13, and SAVING PRIVATE RYAN, the role of Chuck Noland is a memorable performance in Hanks' career. Hanks adds humor, sadness, and pain as the role of the sole survivor who goes through a adventure to survive. And what a adventure! There are plenty of exciting scenes to keep any viewer's attention through out the entire movie. I would like to see Kelly, Rudy, and Richard from t.v.'s "Survivor" to have the same necessities that Chuck has in the film to survive the island for about five years. The only flaw is that there are some scenes that have the adventures similar to a thrill ride, but there are some very slow scenes here and there. But why bicker? CAST AWAY is easily one of the best films of 2000, and another excellent film to add to the impressive list of Tom Hanks' career. Just like FORREST GUMP, the partnership of Robert Zemeckis and Tom Hanks would deliver a great film, and CAST AWAY is another film that delivers. Don't miss it! ***** (out of five)