quite disappointing

Rating: Null/10 (25 September 2002)

(MAY CONTAIN SOME SPOILERS)
I had high hopes for this movie but it did not live up to my expectations for a number of reasons. Firstly, this movie starts off in a quite confusing manner, we are briefly introduced to characters that we don't see again for 3 HOURS. We think they are relevant when actually they are not.
Secondly, the plane crash scene annoyed me also. The plane suddenly takes a dive for no reason, it was not hit by lightning or anything. Just before it crashes we can see from the cockpit window that the plane is diving at quite a steep angle. Into the sea. In a storm. At night. How could anyone survive? Beats me. Not to mention the fact that when Tom Hanks is in the water it is crystal clear, not pitch black, and he doesn't even have a scratch on his body from the impact. These may seem like petty things but it is not hard to make scenes relatively realistic. The fact that it is "only" a film does not mean this should be an excuse to insult the viewer. When Hanks returns to his girlfriend after being rescued, she does not ask him a single question about his ordeal! come on! you think your man is dead, and 4 years later he returns and you don't even ask him how he coped or anything. Finally, that busniness with the unopened package. Why did he not open it? Why did it save his life? What was in it? Why did they not tell us what was in it? These were my main problems with the film. It wasn't all bad. Wilson the volleyball was actually my favourite character. No offence Tom.