Wow, I feel like I've just returned from a long vacation. Either that or I was sitting out in the rain for a couple of hours.

Juicy dialogue graces a tasteful dinner scene early on, but soon enough nearly all discourse gets kissed swiftly goodbye as you and Tom brave the weather on a tiny isle some place in some stormy ocean.

Like living alone in the wild, the film is curious, adventurous and exciting at times and at others, plain as sand, uneventful.

However, it was the tail of the tale, the last 25 minutes, that left me marooned. Sorry, details will spoil, but it's as if the film itself, after careful loving attention, was rushed off, dropped from a plane into the ocean and cast away. That last bit plays like a full feature of its own that had been mercilessly cut to just short of a half hour and stapled to the end of this island picture.

Lastly, I'm not a one to harshly criticize any production for picking up a few extra bucks on product sponsorship, but this presentation is one long commercial that leaves a bitter aftertaste.

Flaws aside, Tom does a great job working with only sand, coconuts, and crabs.

I interviewed Director Robert Zemeckis a few months back. At that time he'd just finished production of "What Lies Beneath" which was created after the first half of "Cast Away" and before the second half, giving time for Tom Hanks to loose all that weight. Ford and Pfeiffer are also interviewed. Click here for that article.