The
Island Review
Cast:-
Ewan McGregor,
Scarlett Johansson,
Djimon Hounsou,
Michael Clarke Duncan,
Steve Buscemi,
Sean Bean,
Shawnee Smith,
Noa Tishby
Synopsis:-
Michael Bay ("Armageddon,"
"Pearl Harbor") directs the futuristic action
thriller "The Island," starring Ewan McGregor
("Star Wars: Episodes I, II & III," "Moulin
Rouge!") and Scarlett Johansson ("Lost in
Translation," "Girl With a Pearl Earring").
Lincoln Six-Echo (McGregor)
is a resident of a seemingly utopian but contained facility
in the mid-21st century. Like all of the inhabitants
of this carefully controlled environment, Lincoln hopes
to be chosen to go to the "The Island"—reportedly
the last uncontaminated spot on the planet—until
he makes a terrible discovery that everything about
his existence is a lie…and that he is actually
more valuable dead than alive. Together with a beautiful
fellow resident named Jordan Two-Delta (Johansson),
Lincoln makes a daring escape to the outside world he’s
never known. Now, with the forces of the institute that
once housed them relentlessly hunting them down, Lincoln
and Jordan engage in a desperate race for their lives.
Rounding out the main cast
of "The Island" are Oscar® nominee Djimon
Hounsou ("In America," "Gladiator")
as the leader of the security team pursuing Lincoln
and Jordan; Sean Bean ("National Treasure,"
"The Lord of the Rings" trilogy) as the head
of the Institute; Steve Buscemi ("Ghost World,"
"Armageddon") as a man who befriends Lincoln
despite working for the institute; and Oscar® nominee
Michael Clarke Duncan ("The Green Mile," "Armageddon")
as another resident who is elated and envied when he
is selected to go to "The Island."
Plot:-
Lincoln Six-Echo (McGregor)
is a resident of a seemingly utopian but contained facility
in the mid-21st century. Like all of the inhabitants
of this carefully controlled environment, Lincoln hopes
to be chosen to go to the “The Island”—reportedly
the last uncontaminated spot on the planet. He and all
of the other inhabitants of the facility are actually
human clones whose only purpose is to provide “spare
parts” for their original human counterparts. Realizing
it is only a matter of time before he is “harvested,”
Lincoln makes a daring escape with a beautiful fellow
resident named Jordan Two-Delta (Johansson). Relentlessly
pursued by the forces of the sinister institute that
once housed them, Lincoln and Jordan engage in a race
for their lives to literally meet their makers.
What the critics
say:-
The new Michael Bay extravaganza
The Island never really piqued my interest that much.
I saw commercials, trailers and other types of things
for the film and I was never filled with the thought
that this was a film that I had to see. More to the
point, it was film I most likely knew I was going to
see, simply because I am a fan of Ewan McGregor and
Scarlett Johansson. Also, many times I have gone into
Michael Bay films and not really cared that much about
them, and then by the end of the movie I am sad that
it is over. I overstate this a bit simply because I
don't want anyone to think I went into this film with
perceived notions that I wouldn't like it. Yet, sadly
this is exactly what happened.
Here is the story as I understand
it and I apologize if while telling it I give away any
spoilers. I am going to make a concerted effort not
to do this. McGregor plays Lincoln Six Echo and Johansson
plays Jordan Two Delta. These are two people that live
in a place that is the last refuge for humanity. They
have been told that the world has been destroyed (or
contaminated) and they (along with a bunch of other
people) are they only survivors. We see people learning
all over again in a very controlled environment. In
fact, McGregor and Johansson can't even begin to get
intimate before some guard or higher authority comes
between them. People are selected in a lottery-type
way to go to The Island, where they are supposedly going
to repopulate the earth. Through a weird chain of events,
McGregor finds out that nobody has gone to any island
and this is when he and Johansson escape.
Upon entering the real world,
where things are "normal", we get to see how
they adapt to their new environment. Finally, they corner
one of the workers that McGregor was friends with in
the research facility he lived in (played by Steve Buscemi)
and it is here that they find out they are clones, or
"insurance policies", for real people in the
real world. McGregor and Johannson decide they must
find the people they are cloned after and get this conspiracy
out in the open.
Okay, I am not going to say
what the scene is, but let me begin by saying that for
a movie like this suspension of disbelief is EVERYTHING.
Now, the action scenes that Michael Bay has constructed,
and there are a hefty amount of them, are very good.
They move quickly, they are coherent and we can always
tell what is going on. The dialogue, the character development,
all of the little nuts and bolts stuff that you would
think Bay might eschew is all in there as well. So where
does my problem lay, you ask? Well, it has to do with
the clones. More to the point it has to do with Johansson's
character. I don't want to give too much away, but there
is one scene that just completely took me out of the
movie. It was enough for me to start not liking this
movie. Now, you might be asking, why throw the baby
out with the bath water? And I can only say that it
was enough of a big deal for me to be completely jolted
out of any semblance of reality this film was supposed
to have.
I loved the look of the film.
I loved the scope. I think the facility where the clones
are created looks awesome. I think the way this film
comes across is nearly flawless. Also, I think this
is one of Ewan McGregor's best performances. In addition
to playing Lincoln Six Echo he also plays Tom Lincoln.
McGregor is just a good actor. He is someone who easily
glides between big and small roles. Everything he does
seems effortless to him. He can play a romantic lead,
he can play an action hero and he truthfully seems like
someone who becomes highly engaged by the roles that
he plays. Johansson is good but I feel a bit underused
here. I am not sure how great of a range she has, but
she has shown chops both in bigger and smaller films.
It would be interesting to see what she does when she
is given a more meaty role in large film like The Island.
Michael Bay is a master filmmaker.
He's no Hitchcock but he's good. He is someone who really
knows how to tell a big story. None of his films ever
look like they overwhelm him. I have never seen a Michael
Bay film and thought, "Man, I was following that
just fine and then I got lost." You don't ever
hear reviewers deride his films because of this. They
just seem to have problems with characters or the over
the top nature of his stories. He has done some very
credible work on The Island. The film isn't a hodge
podge of techno speak and cyberspace lingo. It is actually
grounded very much in the here and now. Overall, the
film isn't horrible. I would recommend it. I was just
so saddened by this one scene. In fact, it's not even
a scene. It's just a moment that totally takes the viewer
out of what they are watching. It reminds you that you
are watching a movie. That you aren't living in that
world. And for the fleeting moments of time that this
movie lasts, that makes all the difference.
By:- Evan
"Mushy" Jacobs (Movieweb)
