The Island

Michael Bay has had his directoral ups and downs, but here in the big budget action realm, the director of the excellent The Rock seems right at home. This time, Bay welds the action to a solid, if somewhat unoriginal sci fi plot - which blends elements of Logan's Run, THX-1138 and Gattaca.

Ewan McGregor and Scarlett Johanson are an attractive couple living in a completely medically regulated community designed to repopulate a world decimated by a mass extinction. Ethan Phillips, Djimon Hounsou and Sean Beam all provide excellent support. Beam is miraculously transformed into his clever, arrogant and suspect character. Phillips is also particularly memorable as their slightly unhinged pal.

Life in an enclosed, sterile environment, with all of their needs taken careof - including neatly arranged and identical uniforms, jobs, and three square can be a great bore, so - once a week or so - the sponsoring corporation gives away a one way ticket to the only place in the outside world which isn't lethal - The Island.

McGregor's Licoln Six Echo and a number of his cohorts are becoming increasingly agitated and curious about their home. All the while, his platonic relationship with Jordan Two Delta (Johanson) grows. But then, she wins her ticket to the island.

I have described the basic set up, and sci-fi fans will probably understand that this film actually sits among Logan's Run, gattaca, THX-1138 and other intelligent dystopian sci films. What may be a little harder to visualize is how stylistically indebted to Gattaca and THX-1138 this film is. Ewan McGregor doesn't really look like Ethan Hawke, and Scarlett Johanson is certainly not easily mistaken for Uma Thurmond, but between the cinematography, the themes, and the overall prettiness of the cast, the homage is obvious. The camera work is excellent, and the pace is spot-on, though it does become a little breathless toward the end.

Nevertheless, The Island stands on its own as a nice example of big budget sci fi which does not insult its audience's intelligence and uses its budget to tell an interesting story - not just to show off a lot of special effects and highly improbable action (though there is quite a lot of both here anyway). Recommended for serious and semi-serious sci fi fans.

I found The Island to be highly enjoyable - a great Summer blockbuster that isn't quite mindless. It raises a number of very interesting questions...

Plenty of eye candy in every form, the two leads, the scenery, explosions, action sequences, the cinematography, everything you would expect from Michael Bay and Co.

The pacing to begin with is somewhat slow as the premise is set up (though disappointingly the trailers give it all away), but once it launches into the first action sequence it doesn't let up for some time. Yes the story has a number of plot holes but you can easily overlook them and get swept away in the fun. I've never seen Johansson on film until now and WOW, now I know what all the fuss is about. Her and McGregor display enough chemistry to make their relationship believable but only just. I'm sure this will only propel them onto bigger and better things.

My one and only gripe was with the ending scene complete with cheesy choral accompaniment - blech! Maybe Bay just couldn't help himself. I suppose no film is perfect..

7 out of 10, solid, fun entertainment, what more can you ask for?

I worked at Eworks when I first saw the trailer for "The Island." I wasn't blown away by the trailer and neither was anyone I worked with, mainly because we couldn't figure out what the hell the movie was about. Several trailers and TV spots later, I still felt the same way about it. The only thing about the film that interested me was the cast. I really like Scarlett Johansson, Ewan McGregor, and Steve Buscemi. So considering that there was nothing else out this weekend I decided to give "The Island" a chance.

"The Island" is basically about the end of the human race or so we think. The movie's basic storyline for the film is this: the human race gets contaminated and there is this compound that rescues people and decontaminates them. So all of the world's survivors live in this compound with the ultimate goal of going to the Island, where everyone can live a safe and happy life. However, Lincoln (Ewan McGregor) finds that this compound doesn't make much sense and begins to question the whole idea of the island. It isn't long before Lincoln finds out the truth behind the island but just when he does his best friend Jordan (Scarlett Johansson) gets selected to go to the island. It is now up to Lincoln to save Jordan and the rest of the people in the compound from going to the island and ultimately finding out the truth of their existence. An intense and action packed film ensues…

Like I said earlier this film never really interested me but since this summer is really lacking in films, I gave it a chance and I am glad I did. This movie may actually be Michael Bay's move from all action to action and story. While there are still some plot holes in the film and the script could use a little fixing up, the majority of the film was well done especially for someone like Michael Bay. The story was very interesting and seemed pretty realistic. Sure it had a few far-fetched action scenes but what's a summer action movie without them? But on the whole it was action packed, entertaining, interesting, and thought provoking film(wow who would believe that one day I could say that about a Michael Bay movie).

I also never thought I would see Scarlett Johansson play in a Hollywood action/thriller and from her scenes in the trailer it looked like I never wanted to either. However I was pleasantly surprised by how she pulled it off. She seemed to fit the role and was very good at it. But if you ask me would I rather see her in big budget popcorn flicks or independent films, I would still pick the independent films. Ewan McGregor was actually good as well, and again I never thought I would see him pull off a role like this but I guess that proves that both McGregor and Johansson are good actors. It's was also fun to have Ewan and Scarlett giving the film a few chuckles here and there. Steve Buscemi is our comedic relief guy as well as the guy who basically explains the whole island thing to us. He was good but I felt was cut out of the film awfully fast.

Bottom line is that I was pleasantly surprised with the outcome of "The Island." It was a lot better then "War of the Worlds" which basically had all action and no story. This film doesn't have a perfect story, but it still has one and has an interesting concept at that. This film isn't going to win best picture any time soon but it's a good summer blockbuster. The basic premise of the film to me seems very believable in the near future. I just suggest buying the biggest popcorn and soda at the theater and enjoy! MovieManMenzel's final rating for "The Island" is a 7/10

I absolutely love the dialogue and wild action! Among one of few Micheal Bay films that is awesome, I forgot how enthralling The Island is. Ewen Mcgreggor did so good throughout along with everyone else like Sean Bean he's a great villain in most anything. I imagine the budget was wildly expensive especially with destruction, cars, and the special effects. Quite a unique Sci-Fi very original, mind blowing cat and mouse on a large scale.

I had heard for years about THE ISLAND because of its stellar cast and also because it's directed by Michael Bay, who always makes enjoyable blockbusters. Last March I finally saw it and it stood to my expectations.

The movie is set in 2019 where a huge contamination has made the Earth an unhospitable place and the few survivors live in a giant technological structure where life is organized and monitored even in the tiniest details and a lottery selects who has to go in an island where there can be a new future. Tom Lincoln (Ewan McGregor) waits since three years to win the lottery but not only he doesn't have the requirements but also has too many questions and a frequent nightmare that has discussed with technician James McCord (Steve Buscemi). After discovering that the lottery winners have to die of horrible deaths Tom decides to escape with Sarah Jordan (Scarlett Johannson) and discover that there is no contamination, only to be chasen by mercenary Albert Laurent (Djimon Hounsou) sent by Doctor Merrick (Sean Bean) and after lots of chases and explosions, free all the humans in the structure and let them live a normal life.

The acting by all was good and the action sequences great, not surprising since it's directed by Bay. And the plot and settings were great as well, with various hidden meanings and feel good ending.

Not to be missed if you are Bay fans and overall, an entertaining misunderstood movie from the 2000s.