He decides he can survive until help arrives. I loved the airplane crash in this film. It was quite gripping and shocking. I liked how the crash brought out the survival instinct deep inside the Hanks character. The film then moves on to Hanks' slowly going out of his mind on the island which is a real treat to watch.
Hanks is still amazing.
The structure of the film interrupts Hanks' brilliant performance and for me ruined the last half. Castaway tries way to hard to live up to the majestic tone of the trailers and the reputation of its cast and crew. Eventually falling apart as it wears out its welcome. What's strange about this whole structural flaw is there is the exact moment when you know that the film is boring and toying with you. I mean the film before that text seems like a completely different film then the one after.