Another good movie shot to hell by the trailers!

Rating: Null/10 (28 December 2000)

Another good effort shot to hell by its trailers. [If you have NOT seen any trailers to this movie, YOU must be alone on a desert island! But if so, stop reading and go see it; it's a good movie that you'll enjoy, but hurry before you watch another minute of tv.]
***SPOILERS (only if you have not seen any trailers)***
What didn't you know about this movie going in? Except, perhaps, that Helen Hunt had a small, almost insignificant role? You knew that Hanks would be "right back," then a crash landing left him on a desert island for several years; you knew he would be declared dead and that Hunt's memory would keep him alive; you knew he would make it back; you knew that Hunt would be married when he did; and you knew going in that it was going to be a shameless commercial for FedEx and Wilson sporting goods -- to the point that you kept asking, why?
Having said that, you really DO think that Tom Hanks has been stranded on a remote island with little or no clue as to how to survive. You really DO think that he is losing his mind. He's a fine actor, and the long stretches of tedium highlight the fact that life on a desert island is anything but glamorous.
When I was in line for tickets, the woman in front of me asked for tickets for "The Castaways." Now, I knew this wasn't a Disney retread, but it made me look at the marquee. And there it was. It not only wasn't plural, it wasn't even singular. Cast Away's a verb, not a noun! Now, that says more about the movie than almost anything else.
Odd ending that few will like. People like finality; this movie didn't give it. 7 of 10.