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Movie Review - The Island (2005)
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(What this rating means)
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| Director: |
Michael Bay |
| Starring: |
Ewan McGregor, Scarlett Johansson, Djimon Hounsou, Sean Bean, and Steve Buscemi |
| Rated: |
PG-13 (for intense sequences of violence and action, some sexuality and language) |
| Length: |
127 minutes |
| Genre: |
Sci Fi/Action |
| Tagline: |
They don't want you to know what you are. |
| Studio: |
Warner Bros. |
| Website: |
The Island |
| Release: |
July 22, 2005 |
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PLOT
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Lincoln Six-Echo (McGregor) is a resident of a contained facility in the mid 21st century. The facility is
a carefully controlled environment, and the residents are told things must be this way due to a
"contamination." It's everybody's hope to win the lottery and be chosen to go to "The Island" - reportedly
the last uncontaminated spot on the planet.
The residents of the facility mostly play by the rules, but questions start to arise. Why is everybody's nutrition
and metabolism being monitored so strictly? Why does it take some people so long to reach "The Island"? Why are
people still being rescued from the "contamination"? What exactly is that weird thing on Ewan McGregor's
forehead?
Speaking of Ewan, he's the first resident to ever question the environment and his existence there. He begins to
do a little snooping and when he happens upon an unpleasant discovery, he grabs Jordan Two-Delta (Johannson)
before she can be sent to "The Island," and they make a run for it. Naturally, the people running the facility
must try to prevent their escape. Some genuinely exciting action sequences and Scarlett Johansson's lips ensue.
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JOHNNY'S TAKE
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All right, I might as well go ahead and prepare to take some heat from all you Bay haters (Michael Bay, that is)
out there. You ready? *ahem* *stretches neck* ... I liked The Island! There. I said it. And let me make
it easy for you...
"Hey Johnny, how much is the studio payin' you?"
"What up, shill? Must be nice being a studio plant."
Cut and paste the one you like the best into an email and send it along. I haven't started a Cafe Press page
selling "Michael Bay - World's Greatest Director" t-shirts or anything, but come on, the man knows how to
deliver the action goods. The Rock is only one of the best action films of the 90s. Nicholas Cage
was rockin' the Casbah in those days, and you know it. Even though I don't think there are Casbahs in North
America.
Anyway, The Island is destined to be one of those movies that pleases most moviegoers, yet irritates the
elitist critics. You've heard their complaints before: It's too loud! There are too many car chases! Bay's so
in love with explosions that he might as well propose to them! This is just pretty people involved in action
sequences! There are too many plot holes!
I'm not sure why so many critics were willing to ignore some of those same issues with
War of the Worlds but are so outspoken about them in regard to
The Island. Still hopin' for that Spielberg interview I guess. But you know what? I like explosions! I
like really cool car chase scenes! And doggone it; I thoroughly enjoyed watching Ms. Johansson run away from
trouble in those tight little white jumpsuit pants of hers. Granted, the outfits are goofy. I'm pretty sure my
entire family (with the exception of me) had some almost like that during the late 90s when swishy jumpsuits were
all the rage. But Scarlett wears it well.
The story behind The Island might not be overly original (yes, it combines elements of Logan's Run,
THX 1138, Blade Runner, The Clonus Horror, etc.), but it's fairly interesting nonetheless.
And it's not a subject that is too far-fetched. You've got a company that, through a $120 billion investment, has
started to clone humans. People who can afford it can have themselves cloned in case they need an organ transplant
in the future. After all, it's the American dream to live forever (how else do you explain Joan Rivers' 24 face
lifts?), so there are plenty of investors willing to try to expand their lifespan by 60-70 years. Have you seen
what people do these days in the name of preserving their beauty? I have no doubt there are people today with
enough money (and little ethical concerns regarding cloning) who'd be up for this.
However, the investors are told that the clones will be kept in a vegetative state, so when it's discovered that
the organs fail without life or consciousness the hijinks begin. Sean Bean, in what has to be his 47th role as a bad
guy, runs the facility and views the clones as nothing more than tools and instruments. The trick is the clones
view themselves as humans. We all know that heads will eventually butt and shenanigans can't help but ensue.
The Island is a movie that has a thought-tickling message it wants to touch on, but its main goal is to give
moviegoers a lot of cool things going boom in a somewhat believable and futuristic fashion. It definitely succeeds
on that level, and for that reason I was able to ignore the plot holes and minor squabbles. What's harder to
ignore is the blatant product placement.
Sheeeeeesh, got a few sponsors to make happy? I guess one thing Bay can't be accused of is being subtle. Prepare
to be bombarded with close-ups of Xbox, MSN Search, Aquafina, Nokia, Ben & Jerry's, etc. Much like DJ Qualls' nose,
it does stick out quite obviously, but if you can ignore it or laugh it off then you'll be just fine.
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ODDS & ENDS
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- Amazingly, this is the first Michael Bay film that is not produced by Jerry Bruckheimer.
- There are rumors that this is a remake of the 1979 MST3K classic The Clonus Horror. The screenwriters
claim they had never heard of The Clonus Horror, so while this doesn't appear to be an official remake,
both movies do contain some very similar elements. Perhaps Caspian Tredwell-Owen (who wrote the story) used
elements of The Clonus Horror, and the screenwriters weren't aware of this. Chalk this one down as
another question to ask God one day.
- I couldn't really find any pictures I wanted to make fun of with my usual witty captions. Either that
or I was just too lazy to put forth much effort.
- Ewan McGregor was in Nightwatch with Josh Brolin who was in Hollow Man with Kevin Bacon.
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MAMA'S APPROVAL
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This is surprisingly safe for children. There is only a small amount of profanity (pretty much just a few instances
of the "s" word and one f-bomb said in Ewan's Scottish accent). The action is pretty intense, but it's nothing that
a kid can't handle if he's allowed to watch Comic Book movies like Batman Begins,
which as a whole was a darker movie than The Island.
The story may be a little over the heads of youngsters, but it isn't exactly Memento in terms of complexity.
There's enough action to keep the viscerally-inclined quite happy.
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TRAILER COMPARISON
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I actually enjoyed the movie more than I thought I would. It is more action-packed than the trailer indicated
it would be. I feel the trailer gave away more than it should have, but so does the plot description on the
website, so I suppose they weren't too interested in keeping things a mystery.
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THE GIST
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The Island rises above your typical "dumb action flick" by combining action, story, and humor in a mix that
should please the average moviegoer. If you're the type of person who complains about loud, fast-paced, action-packed
Summer blockbusters then save your money and save the rest of us from your whining. This one is fairly smart for
the genre, so please quit acting like it's xXx: State of the
Union.
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