Staring Tom Hanks as...Tom Hanks

Rating: 6/10 (5 April 2001)

WARNING: SOME MOVIE SPOILERS AND DETAILS ARE CONTAINED WITHIN
CUT TO THE CHASE, well not in this film. In the beginning, a lethargic and reality-incongruent attempt to propel the emotive elements into viewer consciousness. But for director Zemeckis, our fodder intellect need not apply to the language used in this film; the links in the build-up are forcibly coerced and the story line can't really get rolling as every notion is too telegraphed. The audience know the disaster is looming, but it need not have been so auto-cued, even for Hollywood's version of Gilligan's Island meets sociological experiment. For Helen Hunt, a talent of note, this certainly is not as good as it gets, while Tom seems initially a little lost himself.
Then, the much heralded plane scene, so realistic I almost felt sick. Unfortunately, Tom Hanks is far too close to the front of the plane to have survived, but thats show biz.
On to the next module dimension: Tom is cast away on a small island. Here we see some cool acting by Tom, playing himself of course, showing us that even though he can be brilliant in films like The Green Mile, he can still be homogenized by an ill conceived dull script. Tom takes over the movie by himself really, no directorship required. There's the usual bits you'd expect: arrival, set up, learning of the environment, injury, defeat, craze, fight-back, planning, rescue, and hey presto, he's on a flight to Memphis with tasty refreshments. And maybe I'm wrong, but I thought it was dolphins who loved helping humans lost at sea, not whales!

In the final setting: 'the cast away returns', Tom goes round telling those he so callously left behind, just how sorry he is that he wasn't there for them. I felt a bit squeamish at that point, and it was heightened at the moment I saw my girlfriend crying as she uttered "he's lost everything". "Yes, he has" I empathetically replied.
Zemeckis seems determined here to paint us each like Robin Williams in Good Will Hunting, the empathy role, because, its not Tom's fault he wasn't there while he was stuck on an island for four and a half years, it's not your fault Tom, it's not your fault Tom, it's not your fault. The final tease for me (well the first actually), was the best, the scene was set for the cheese ending, and then it had the plug pulled, and I loved it!
To summarize, we paid our money and went through the alphabet one more time. If this is one of the five best films of the year then the world should stop making them. The plane scene is the savior, but its not enough. Special marks though for casting Vince Martin who is actually famous in Australasia for being a 'know one' and becoming a very successful product pusher! Afterwards, those around me looked bemused, and the guy next to me gave me that look that let me know his girlfriend had been through a rough emotional roller coaster ride too.