Much more than I expected

Rating: 8/10 (16 March 2014)

(Spoilers)
Much more than I expected. Disaster-adventure movies are generally quite predictable. Plot = disaster, survive, rescue. That's it. Hard to rate a movie highly that just follows that formula and has very little room to stray from it.
That's what makes Cast Away so good. Yes, there are elements of that formula in it, but it has so much more than that.
Director Robert Zemeckis carefully sets up the background of the lead character, especially the romantic angle. The survival part meticulously details how he works out how to survive, and how he survives. The movie doesn't end with a rescue, it goes beyond that, showing how the lead character has to restart his life.
Great performance by Tom Hanks in the lead role. Good support from Helen Hunt, but the best supporting performance has to go to Wilson the Volleyball. Solid stuff...
Not perfect. The ending feels like it was drawn out too much, and the director tried to make something profound out of the unprofound. The movie should have ended a few scenes earlier than it did.