Great acting, dopey script

Rating: 7/10 (28 December 2000)

Cast Away is sure to nab another Oscar nomination for Tom Hanks, and in a relatively weak year for film he may just win his third. He would deserve it, and not just for his physical transformation. Any other actor in the world would get laughs if they recited the dopey dialogue (or monologue, I guess, since he's alone on that island). I can't imagine Ralph Finnes being taken seriously if he proclaimed "I have made . . .fire!" but Hanks somehow pulls it off.
You may be aware that the studio moronically gives away the ending in the trailers and commercials--it is inexcusable and blunts much of the emotion of the situation. This is a solid film with a fascinating second and third acts, but a flat-footed fourth act. They paint themselves into a corner with no satisfactory ending, and then fail to come up with a satisfactory conclusion. But with Hanks' acting and Zemeckis' eye-popping direction, this film is very satisfying.