Cast Away (2000)
When the star of a survival film is a volleyball.
Presentation:
When you imagine being stranded on an island, there is no other film to consider. Tom Hanks has consistently been the face of survival films and there is no better case than the iconic classic Cast Away. But despite permeating through culture, there’s something that didn’t appeal to me rewatching this in 2026. While Tom Hanks is fine, he is not a magnetic driving force to watch a film like Denzel Washington or Tom Cruise. In fact, he’s not even the star of the film. Due to the plot, there’s not a lot of dialogue in this film as he’s stranded on an island. I now realize that the biggest star of this film is actually Spalding, the volleyball.
Conclusion:
I’m not always a fan of Zemeckis’s direction, which relies on too many closeups. It was frustrating when I couldn’t see anything, which is a shame because it has one of the most cinematic plane crashes in cinema that would inspire Bioshock. This is not a bad film nor is it particularly outdated, but I’m not sure it was worth it to be washed away a second time in 2026. I’m sorry, Wilson!
Recommendations
When the star of a survival film is a volleyball.