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Cast Away (2000)

tomatometer

90

Average Rating: 7.4/10
Reviews Counted: 154
Fresh: 138 | Rotten: 16

Flawed but fascinating, Cast Away offers an intelligent script, some of Robert Zemeckis' most mature directing, and a showcase performance from Tom Hanks.

86

Average Rating: 7/10
Critic Reviews: 37
Fresh: 32 | Rotten: 5

Flawed but fascinating, Cast Away offers an intelligent script, some of Robert Zemeckis' most mature directing, and a showcase performance from Tom Hanks.

audience

80

liked it
Average Rating: 3.5/5
User Ratings: 664,414

My Rating

Movie Info

An exploration of human survival and the ability of fate to alter even the tidiest of lives with one major event, Cast Away tells the story of Chuck Noland (Tom Hanks), a Federal Express engineer who devotes most of his life to his troubleshooting job. His girlfriend Kelly (Helen Hunt) is often neglected by his dedication to work, and his compulsive personality suggests a conflicted man. But on Christmas Eve, Chuck proposes marriage to Kelly right before embarking on a large assignment. On the

PG-13,

Drama, Action & Adventure

William Broyles

Jun 12, 2001

$233.2M

20th Century Fox - Official Site External Icon

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All Critics (157) | Top Critics (38) | Fresh (138) | Rotten (16) | DVD (33)

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.

June 24, 2006 Full Review Source: Time Out
Time Out
Top Critic IconTop Critic

Hanks's Everyman quality has never been more aptly utilized: He's the perfect stand-in for all of us who never made it to Eagle Scout.

September 26, 2002 Full Review Source: New York Magazine | Comment (1)
New York Magazine
Top Critic IconTop Critic

Cast Away isn't the first to recognize our modern need for primal tales, but it is among the most accomplished. It plugs straight into our unplugged fantasies.

March 19, 2002 Full Review Source: Globe and Mail | Comment (1)
Globe and Mail
Top Critic IconTop Critic

Hanks conducts a master class in acting by showing a man losing his sense of himself in fractional gradations.

June 4, 2001
Rolling Stone
Top Critic IconTop Critic

The scenes of Hanks' complete isolation on the island, where barely a sound is heard for minutes at a time, are the best thing about Cast Away.

December 22, 2000 Full Review Source: Toronto Star | Comment (1)
Toronto Star
Top Critic IconTop Critic

Cast Away amounts to little more than an unprecedented showcase for its star.

December 22, 2000 Full Review Source: Detroit News | Comment (1)
Detroit News
Top Critic IconTop Critic

Tom Hanks' powerful, brutal and mature story.

December 22, 2010 Full Review Source: Common Sense Media
Common Sense Media

As melancholy as it is affirming, "Cast Away" tells a darkly comic, occasionally punishing parable about what happens when humans lose sight of humility in life's grand scheme - an interesting thematic twin to Tom Hanks' own "Joe vs. the Volcano."

September 25, 2010 Full Review Source: Suite101.com
Suite101.com

Remains one of the more vividly transporting films I've come into contact with. It's heartbreaking, darkly comedic, bravely observational, and ultimately, pure emotional poetry.

December 7, 2009 Full Review Source: BrianOrndorf.com
BrianOrndorf.com

This is a very original film. There's hope for Hollywood yet, folks.

April 29, 2009 Full Review Source: Cinema Crazed
Cinema Crazed

The beginning and ending of the film are a bit underdeveloped, but that's just quibbling.

August 7, 2008 Full Review Source: Sacramento News & Review | Comment (1)
Sacramento News & Review

Zemeckis' tranquil control never wavers.

February 3, 2008 Full Review Source: eFilmCritic.com | Comments (2)
eFilmCritic.com

I wish that all of the film's 144 minutes were spent alone with Hanks.

December 8, 2007 Full Review Source: Movie Metropolis | Comments (2)
Movie Metropolis

This is Mr. Zemeckis' most confident directing to date. If he only had as much faith in his audience.

July 14, 2007 Full Review Source: Big Picture Big Sound
Big Picture Big Sound

Thoroughly entertaining and skillfully rendered.

January 5, 2007 Full Review Source: Film Journal International | Comment (1)
Film Journal International

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.

December 6, 2005 Full Review Source: Film Threat | Comments (3)
Film Threat

While his philosophical ventures seem stuck in the shallow end of the pool, Zemeckis takes an important step forward as a filmmaker.

December 6, 2004
Looking Closer

This isn't a first time a long-awaited movie has turned out to be a crushing disappointment and it won't be the last, but the loss is made even more wrenching when one considers how little it would have taken to make Cast Away a great movie.

January 9, 2004 Full Review Source: Film Blather | Comment (1)
Film Blather

It's a risky venture, and a fascinating, straightforward glimpse into the soul of a man.

May 14, 2003 | Comment (1)
Palo Alto Weekly

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.

March 19, 2003 Full Review Source: Nick's Flick Picks | Comments (14)
Nick's Flick Picks

If all of Cast Away were as gripping as its long midsection, it would be overwhelming; still, even with its flaws, it marks another milestone performance for Tom Hanks as well as for Robert Zemeckis.

February 8, 2003 Full Review Source: Film Quips Online | Comment (1)
Film Quips Online

Cast Away says what you (yes, you) would end up doing if you were on a deserted island.

December 12, 2002 Full Review Source: Katrillion.com | Comment (1)
Katrillion.com

An enjoyable, moving drama in which you'll believe a man can love a volleyball. Highly recommended.

October 30, 2002 Full Review Source: ViewLondon | Comment (1)
ViewLondon

Hanks made more faces and walked around with his mouth open more than I might have liked, but he has a way of revealing his thoughts without words that kept me intrigued.

October 21, 2002 Full Review Source: San Diego Metropolitan
San Diego Metropolitan

Audience Reviews for Cast Away

'Cast Away'. Tragedy and euphoria on the smallest and biggest of scales. It's all relative when you're alone for an age on an island! Tom Hanks turns in an amazing performance. The writing and direction is spot on too.
November 18, 2010
c0up
c0up  

Super Reviewer

Hanks is Zemeckis' Jimmy Stewart.
December 11, 2011
Graham Jones

Super Reviewer

    1. Chuck Noland: I'm so sad that I don't have Kelly. But I'm so grateful she was with me on that island.
    – Submitted by Kevin H (6 months ago)
    1. Bettina Peterson: You look lost.
    2. Chuck Noland: I do?
    3. Bettina Peterson: Where you heading?
    4. Chuck Noland: Well, I was just about to figure that out.
    – Submitted by Kevin H (6 months ago)
    1. Chuck Noland: Now I know what I have to do now. I gotta keep breathing because tomorrow the sun will rise. Who knows what the tide could bring?
    – Submitted by Kevin H (6 months ago)
    1. Chuck Noland: [crying out] WILSON! I'm sorry! I'm sorry, Wilson. Wilson, I'm sorry! I'm sorry! WILSON! I CAN'T! WILSON! WILSON!
    – Submitted by Sameer G (8 months ago)
    1. Chuck Noland: And I know what I have to do now. I got to keep breathing. Because tomorrow, the sun will rise. Who knows what the tide could bring?
    – Submitted by Karen M (8 months ago)
    1. Chuck Noland: I, have made fire.
    – Submitted by Kevin H (17 months ago)

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Foreign Titles

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