Thoroughly absorbing.
Cast Away (2000)
Tomatometer
How does the Tomatometer work ![]()
Reviews Counted:151
Fresh:135
Rotten:16
Average Rating:7.4/10
Consensus: Critics say that by focusing on one man in one setting, Cast Away takes considerable risks, but ultimately it succeeds. Tom Hanks is excellent in the role, and the movie's themes make it larger than a simple physical survivor story.
Runtime: 2 hrs 23 mins
Genre: Dramas
Synopsis:
Hanks stars as Chuck Noland, a FedEx systems engineer whose personal and professional life are ruled by the clock. His fast-paced career takes him, often at a moment's notice, to far-flung locales...
Hanks stars as Chuck Noland, a FedEx systems engineer whose personal and professional life are ruled by the clock. His fast-paced career takes him, often at a moment's notice, to far-flung locales -- and away from his girlfriend Kelly, played by Helen Hunt.
Chuck's manic existence abruptly ends when, after a plane crash, he becomes isolated on a remote island -- cast away into the most desolate environment imaginable. Stripped of the conveniences of everyday life, he first must meet the basic needs of survival, including water, food and shelter. Chuck, the consummate problem solver, eventually figures out how to sustain himself physically. But then what? Chuck begins his true personal journey.
After four years, fate gives Chuck a chance to fight his way back to civilization, only to find an unexpected emotional challenge greater than all the earlier physical ones. His ability to persevere and to hope are a product of his life-changing experience. Though the conclusion of Chuck's story may not be a conventional Hollywood ending, it is, like life, full of truth, pain and promise. -- © 2000 20th Century Fox
Starring: Tom Hanks, Helen Hunt, Nick Searcy, Lari White
Starring: Tom Hanks, Helen Hunt, Nick Searcy, Lari White, Chris Noth, Viveka Davis, Valerie Wildman
Director: Robert Zemeckis
Director: Robert Zemeckis
Screenwriter: William Broyles
Producer: Steve Starkey, Jack Rapke, Robert Zemeckis, Tom Hanks
Composer: Alan Silvestri
Studio: 20th Century Fox
Reviews for Cast Away
Though Hanks comes across as blandly as ever, at least his solid performance shows he's up to carrying half a movie on his own, and Zemeckis' direction is at first as busily efficient as the protagonist.
For much of the time, Hanks is on screen by himself, his only dialogue addressed to an inanimate ball. A lesser performer would have made it an unendurable ordeal.
This is a good film; if it had stuck to its guns, it could have become a cinema classic.
An enjoyable, moving drama in which you’ll believe a man can love a volleyball. Highly recommended.
The script is insightful and unafraid to tackle very serious issues head on. And the performances are brilliant.
...an odd and unbalanced undertaking that pays distinctive attention to the appropriate elements but then draws back at all the wrong moments...
Cast Away is, in many ways, a bold, adventurous bid for Oscardom. Unfortunately, what it delivers for audiences, as opposed to Oscar voters, is a little questionable.
A heavy-handed Hymn to the Human Spirit, and a pretty joyless one at that.
Hanks and Zemeckis begin with an intriguing premise...and, by the film's end, smother that premise under a tidal wave of sentimentality and schmaltz.
Hanks fans may very well love this movie, but it does not fulfill its promise.
A handsomely made, instructive but finally tedious blow-by-blow training film on island survival that it throws the entire venture out of balance, capsizing the enterprise and making it difficult to keep any kind of message afloat.
Zemeckis is a capable director, so despite the misguided concept, the movie is anything but inept.
When I prayed to the film divinities that I wanted less Tom Hanks at the movies, I didn't just mean that I wanted him to be thinner.
In terms of story and pacing, the whole of Cast Away is a lot less then the sum of its parts.
While Hanks' performance is masterful in this tale of survival, the movie runs out of steam, and direction, at the end.
It's really kind of ironic. The old Chuck's life is ruled by the clock. Once he's learned better, we don't get enough time with him because the author's decided it was time to go. Oh, well.
Latest News for Cast Away
June 22, 2005:
Ridley Scott Jumps In to "Shadow Divers"
The always-busy Ridley Scott ("Kingdom of Heaven") has signed on to bring Robert Kurson's novel "Shadow Divers" to the big screen, says Variety. Mr. Scott... More...
More DVDs
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
|---|---|
| 36% 36% | Angels & Demons |
| 25% 25% | Four Christmases |
| 68% 68% | Funny People |
| 95% 95% | Star Trek |
| 14% 14% | The Ugly Truth |
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
|---|---|
| 83% 83% | Harry Potter and the H… |
| 67% 67% | Public Enemies |
| 75% 75% | Julie & Julia |
| 95% 95% | The Cove |
| 85% 85% | World's Greatest Dad |
What’s Hot On RT
Other News
Sponsored Links
Fresh Links
Featured

Subscribe to RT's YouTube channel and don't miss a second of our cracking video content.

Follow Rotten Tomatoes and join us as we tweet about the week's releases.



Top Critic

