Tom Hanks Does It Again

Rating: 8/10 (25 December 2000)

Robert Zemeckis and Tom Hanks have teamed up again to bring us a thoroughly entertaining new film in `Cast Away'. While `Cast Away' does not bring us the magic that `Forrest Gump' did, but in all honesty what really could, it does however show us the incredible range of actor Tom Hanks. It is hard to believe that this extraordinary actor got his start in such TV shows as `Bosom Buddies'.
Hanks in `Cast Away' spends much of the film alone so very little dialog is used, except in moments of frustration and brief `insanity' where he talks to his new best friend, Wilson, Hanks must rely on his actions to convey his emotions and he does this beautifully! In scene after scene he had me believing & feeling for what he was going through. Even in scenes that could have been ridiculous, i.e. risking his own well being for a volley ball, Hanks made me see the importance of saving this ball and pulled at the heart strings when he was unable to do so.
The movie itself falls short of a classic, with an unsatisfying ending and a wasted Helen Hunt as the girlfriend he left behind, but the real heart of this movie is Hanks and his fight to stay alive and that alone was worth every penny!