Bad, pointless film

Rating: 3/10 (31 December 2000)

CAST AWAY - MINI REVIEW
PLEASE NOTE THAT SOME OF MY COMMENTS MAY GIVE AWAY CERTAIN PLOT LINES OF THE FILM.
Cast Away could have been a great film -- but it turned out to be a real disappointment for me. The plane crash and the subsequent challenge of surviving on an isolated island was quite fascinating. The problem was that the relationship between the Tom Hanks and Helen Hunt characters wasn't well established. It seemed forced and rather phony. One minute Hanks' character is calling his lover from Russia, in a rather matter-of-fact tone, telling her he loves her. He barely turns off the cell-phone and he's back at his high-stress job. If only the director had given him even a few seconds to dwell on his recent conversation with someone he is supposed to be madly in love with. I just never bought the love story aspect of it, so when he returns after being stranded on a tiny, deserted island for over four years I just didn't care about her or their relationship. Far too much time had passed, both in real life, and in the movie. Having Hanks stare at tiny fading photo of her just didn't work. I think Helen Hunt is a fine actress, but her tom-boyish looks don't do much for my libido. And if the audience can't feel what the protagonist is supposed to be feeling, well -- it just doesn't work does it?
I also couldn't understand why the movie dragged on for so long after his rescue. The film would have been much better if it had ended at that point.
The scene when the freighter glided by his raft was fabulous.

There were a lot of great scenes in this movie, but they didn't lead up to anything dramatically. His relationship with Wilson, the volleyball provided the most tender moments in the film. Wilson should be nominated for best supporting actor. Sure his acting was a bit stiff at times, but it was better than the mushy acting that preceded Hank's disappearance and certainly much better than the absurd acting and dialogue we had to endure in the aftermath of his rescue.
Maybe I was expecting too much after reading all the great press.
All in all -- a real disappointment.