Slow pace in the most part of the movie.

Best movie ever!

The film creates a perfect balance between action and depth of basic needs, in the midst of an infertile atmosphere.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

It was really hard for me to sit through this, constantly getting frustrated that he wouldn't open one of the boxes.

Castaway is a perfect Tom Hanks movie where he gets to showcase his skills as an actor. Robert Zemeckis has directed a new take on the Robinson Crusoe saga with a man marooned on an island with nothing more than his perseverance and patience. This may be an adventure film on the surface but there are underlying themes of loneliness, loss and isolation. Of course, there are some stupendous scenes, this being CGI obsessed (in a good way) Zemeckis. The plane crash is a highlight and different from what we have seen in other films and the island scenes with the waves are amazing. As mentioned above Hanks is so good you cannot picture anyone else in his role and his collaboration with the director keeps on flourishing (they also made the critically lauded Forrest Gump). Do not miss Castaway for anything.

A classic shipwreck tale that is flipped into a love story. This isn't just about surviving a deserted island with limited resources. No! It's about testing our limitations and capabilities, proving that even the faintest of glimpses of humanity still resides within us when all hope is lost. A FedEx employee travels on a plane, it crashes, he is washed ashore on a remote uncivilised island, he must survive. It sounds formulaic, uninteresting and all too familiar. Yet, the most overlooked director for the past few decades, manages to turn the simplest of plots into something much grander in scale. Time seems to be stationary for Chuck, who is marooned on this island for four years, however the rest of civilisation keeps on ticking. It doesn't hit you until the last thirty minutes where you suddenly become overwhelmed with emotion. You feel for him. You've witnessed him struggle for survival and even contemplate death. Only for the rest of the world to forget about him. It's a sad truth, but a poignant one. Chuck befriends a volleyball with a bloody hand print for a face, symbolising the need for social interaction. But more importantly, so that Chuck can shout "WILSON!" which, to me, is extremely satisfying. There is a really profound scene towards the end where Chuck walks around a buffet table looking at prepared crab and a lighter, things that we take for granted. Utterly resonating. So simple yet so powerful. Tom Hanks had a physically transformative role, although at times was slightly bland. Zemeckis' direction is the star. Easily one of his best directorial efforts. Love the camera angles at the beginning where it's conjoined with the FedEx post. I did find that the second act starts to lose steam, especially when we fast forward four years. I feel like some vital and pivotal moments were missed out. I wanted more Helen Hunt, just because I love her. However, Cast Away is another strong entry in Zemeckis' filmography and a decent acting performance from Hanks.

A good film though, of course, a little bit humdrum since we are dealing with a rewriting of the famous Robinson Crusoe story financed by FedEx. Of course, our Robinson Crusoe has to have a Friday, and it is a volleyball with a bloody handprint on it.It shows how resilient a man can be in any situation, even when he speaks of or caresses the idea of suicide. Life will call him back to resilience please and he will get some satisfaction. Here he twins his fate with his favorite hand-imprinted volleyball named Wilson, its brand name. The relation is close and he speaks to it all the time, to the point we could call it "him" as if it were a real boy.He manages to conquer some fire, then to cook some food after breaking many coconuts. He survives like that for four years till the tide brings in some plastic contraption he is going to use as a sail for the raft he decides to build. He will stay lost on the vast Pacific Ocean for days, meet one curious whale and finally be picked by a container monster ship and reinstated in life by FedEx. His girlfriend has married in the meantime. He sure rediscovers her one night but that does not go beyond some preliminaries, at least we think so, though maybe . . . The good ending will come from one FedEx package he had recuperated on his desert island and brought back with him but the film remains open on the suggestion that there is always a good ending to all stories around the corner if you are receptive to any extra-sensorial messages.Enjoy the adventure and dream of what you could have done in such a situation.Dr. Jacques COULARDEAU