This movie is misunderstood

Rating: 7/10 (19 February 2007)

Cast Away is probably the most misunderstood movie of the last seven years. It has been called a FedEx commercial, boring, overlong, poorly written, with a terrible ending. All of this misses the point.
First, the movie was not sponsored by FedEx in any way. Zemeckis has stated this from the beginning. FedEx is not the main thrust of the movie anyway. It is merely the means whereby we come to see Chuck's transformation from time-obsessed employee to a deep, introspective thinker who is more emotionally mature than before his time on the island. Additionally, the schtick about the package being delivered "at all costs" is wrong. He wasn't delivering the package to its intended destination; he was returning it to sender.
Also, the claims that the movie is poorly written are off base. Part of the reason there is little dialogue is that Chuck has been alone for a long time and has developed the ability to convey meaning and communication with very subtle changes in expression. The main complaint about the ending is that Chuck simply stands in the middle of the crossroads with a stupid expression on his face and doesn't do anything or go anywhere (nor, even know where he is going). This is not the case. If you notice at the beginning when he picks up the package (and first sees the angel wings), there is a sign over the entrance to the farm that says Dick and Bettina. When he returns it to sender later, check out the sign. Dick's name is gone (he's either died or been kicked to the curb). After he drops off the package and Bettina gives him directions (he is at first clueless about her identity), he is still thinking about what to do. He then sees the wings on the back of her pickup truck and, through the enigmatic Mona Lisa smile on his face, remembers that Dick's name is missing from the sign. I just KNOW he follows her down that road to begin a new life after Kelly.
The boring tag simply comes from people used to movies like True Lies and The Bourne Supremacy where there are practically no stretches of more than two minutes without some action sequence. Watch Cast Away again and you'll notice the little things Hanks does to communicate his feelings and emotional scars. His eyes are especially good.
Why did I give this film only a 7? Well, it's because the other characters in the film are just cardboard cutouts meant to further the story around Hands. None of them are memorable (except maybe Lari White in tight blue jeans...almost worth the price of admission herself!!!).