Although this is far from a faithful adaption of Daniel Defoe's classic novel from the 18th century, this version of Robinson Crusoe holds up fairly well and captures what that polemic writer was trying to say about cultures and how they clash. A number of assumptions about what his character Crusoe had about the superiority of his civilization are shattered.

Two men from totally different worlds manage to communicate and establish a friendship. To be sure it is one of necessity as Crusoe is cut off from his world and Friday, the cannibal he befriends is exiled from his tribe. Still they do get along until civilization intrudes.

Pierce Brosnan is in the title role and aborigine actor William Takaku plays Friday. Defoe himself is written into the film as he is given a purported journal written by Crusoe and as he reads it Brosnan narrates the story. Defoe is played by Ian Hart and Defoe as political polemicist as well as novelist had some advanced views considering the time he lived in.

Brosnan and Takaku do very well in their roles. It's a good story with moral if not plot intact.

I am quite fond of desert island films and programmes, two I most enjoy are Tom Hanks in Cast Away, and of course, the brilliant Lost series, and I heard so much about this story that I decided to give this one a go. It is the 18th Century, and the film begins with a guy giving Daniel Defoe (Ian Hart),the writer of the classic novel, the journal a man's true story of survival. Then it obviously moves into the world of this man, in the 17th Century, Robinson Crusoe (Pierce Brosnan, an Irishman playing a Scotsman) was the ordinary man who flies Britain after killing his friend over the love of Mary (Polly Walker),and the fierce ocean storm wrecks the ship, leaving him stranded by himself on an uncharted island. He learns to fend for himself, gets a companion with the Captain's dog, Skipper, and he uses all the food and tools that survived in the ship wreckage. After spending more time their, over at least a year, he settles and creates a more home, i.e. house, for himself and the dog to live. But he finds he is not alone though, when he sees a tribe sacrificing a man, who he saves, and over months he teaches his new friend, "Man Friday" (William Takaku),to speak quite good English. They know the tribe will be back, so they plant traps all over the place, but they are still captured, and in the end they have a choice to kill one another, or both die, but sadly the British show up and wrongly kill Friday. Also starring James Frain as Robert, Damian Lewis as Patrick Connor and Dracula: Dead and Loving It's Lysette Anthony as Mrs. Crusoe. A interesting story of survival, religion, teaching, friendship, and (slightly annoying) love. I can see why the critics give it two out of five stars. Okay!

If you watch ''Robinson Crusoe '', expecting it to be an adaptation of the novel written by Daniel Defoe, forget it, because you are really going to hate it. As a book adaptation, this movie sucks, since many facts were changed, and others, included in the movie, never existed. The character Mary and the fact that Crusoe was not in love when he went to the sea, Crusoe spending less then 5 years on the island( when he stayed almost 30 years)Friday being killed on the island ( when he went to Europe with Robinson),Robinson being a lord (when he was never a lord) and so on, are just a few to mention.

But as a movie,without thinking about the book,we can consider it good, with beautiful scenarios and a nice plot.

It all starts, when Robinson Crusoe needs to stay away from Britain, since he killed his friend over the love of Mary, a woman he knows since they are kids. Robinson and Mary are in love, but they cannot marry until Robinson stay away from Britain for a while, to the locals forget about his acts. So Robinson takes a ship and starts traveling to many places, until an ocean storm wrecks his ship, and leaves him alone on a desert island. Needing to know how to survive on that place and also trying to go home, Crusoe stays alone for years, until the day he saves a native man from being sacrificed, whom he calls '' Friday''. They start a friendship, and they both learn many things,specially Crusoe, who learns how to respect other cultures and religions besides his own.

Ps: ''Cast Away'', the movie where Tom Hanks is alone on an island, have many things in common with this movie,including the fact that both men let their women behind and needs to find ways to survive alone on a desert island. Probably if you enjoy ''Robinson', you are going to like ''Cast''as well(And Vice versa).

Ps2: READ the book. It is REALLY good and considered one of the most widely published books in history.