The Island - Ray's Review

The Island
2005
136 mins

Directed by Michael Bay
Written by Caspian Tredwell-Owen

Starring:
Ewan McGregor as Lincoln Six Echo/Tom Lincoln
Scarlett Johansson as Jordon Two Delta/Sarah Jordan
Sean Bean as Merrick
Steve Buscemi as McCord
Djimon Hounsou as Albert Laurent

Intro:

[If you don't know the plot of this film and intead on seeing it, do not read this review. The less you know going in the better. I can assure you, if you like big, fun (and semi-intelligent) blockbusters you will have a great time with this flick.]

I'd like to avoid spoiling the plot for you but then that would be difficult considering the studio has already managed to give away pretty much everything in the promotion of The Island. This is a shame as it detracted from several key plot points in what- on a pure entertainment level - is my favourite blockbuster film of the year so far.

The Optimist:

Many reviewers have spoken of this really being two films in one. The slow, thoughtful sci-fi first half followed by the blow-up-everything second half. While the second half is clearly running at a different tempo to the first half I in no way found this to be a bad thing. The two halves are not opposed to one another, they merely create contrast. It's called having a build up to the action and it works.

The first half (or thereabouts) is set in a sterile futuristic facility where the inhabitants all wear white and believe they have been saved from the 'contaminated' outside world. Lincoln Six Echo's (Ewan) day starts with the computer noting that he had a disturbed REM sleep and needs to go to some type of mental evaluation at 0800 hours. He then urinates and high levels of sodium (or something) are detected and his diet is adjusted accordingly. It's all very fascinating and I found myself captivated by the whole scenario even if I did already know it was some dodgy cloning facility thanks to the damn trailer! It would have been so much more effective going into this film with no knowledge of the plot.

The inhabitants of this facility are encouraged to play nice "A healthy person is a happy person" the disembodied voice tells them. We learn they are educated to the level of fifteen year olds. The one thing they all hope for is to win the lottery so they can go to the island - the last natural refuge on earth (apparently) that is free of contamination. Jordon Two Delta (Scarlett) wins the lottery on the same day that the curious Lincoln Six Echo (Ewan) discovers the facilities big dirty secret. Then it's action time as Lincoln and Jordon are hunted down in the real world by incompetent mercenaries, hired by the facilities head doctor Merrick (played by the reliably evil Sean Bean).

The Island was made for something like 120 million and has absolutely tanked at the box office - it's already been knocked back to 10th place after only 3 weeks and has made little over 30 million (a disaster by Hollywood standards). I feel bad for Michael Bay. No I really do. While I'm not a fan of Bad Boys, Armageddon or Pearl Harbour I enjoyed The Rock and can appreciate his skill at on screen destructive mayhem. This is his best film to date and the most fun I've had at the cinema this year. It is rated at 40% at Rotten Tomatoes (with 96 negative reviews and 63 positive) and that is just not fair! Even without the solid sci-fi build-up the action set-pieces alone elevate this film to a level way above other over-rated sci-fi films like Minority Report and War of the Worlds. I was literally ducking for cover and smiling like a crazy bastard during Bay's scenes of destruction. He totally blew me away! Just wait for the highway chase followed by the scene on the high rise - it is pure action bliss.

And then there is Scarlett Johansson. Oh my goodness. I am in love. She really doesn't have much to do in this film other then stand around looking hot, but damn does she do a good job! I'm not one to usually be excited by Hollywood starlets but Scarlett is the exception. I found myself so drawn to her that at times I realised I was neither listening to the characters or following the plot in any capacity. Can you blame me?



Ewan found his eyes kept drifting downwards uncontrollably.


Good points:

Two likable and attractive leads.

Great sci-fi build up to an outrageous series of action scenes that will blow you away!

Solid supporting characters by Steve Buscemi and Michael Clarke Duncan.

Very slick look with great cinematography.

Pumping soundtrack that compliments the on-screen action admirably.

A plausible and fairly well developed sci-fi plot.

Excellent blend of practical and CGI effects.

Ewan McGregor acting opposite himself is a hoot!

The Pessimist:

Even in a film that you have thoroughly enjoyed one always has the capacity to tear it to shreds. So with that in mind...

I can sympathize to a certain degree with many reviewers that it is somewhat of a letdown when the smarter side of the story is pushed aside in favour of the action. As much as I loved the action-pursuit, another side of me was missing the slow thoughtful build up. But I can live with it seeing as the action was so damn good. If the action had been weak (like Minority Report for example) this would have been far less forgivable.

Casting Sean Bean as the baddie is just a dumb move. It means you instantly know that he is not what he seems. Using a less type cast actor would have meant we'd have some element of surprise when he turns nasty. Also I felt like his performance was a little too by-the-numbers for my liking. A more complex baddie could have improved things considerably. Still, Sean Bean is always an amiable fellow, even when portraying an antagonist.

Steve Buscemi's character McCord- while very funny and well played - was an exposition tool. He was there to give plot information to the audience and to the lead characters. I felt some of his scenes could have been a bit less 'on the nose'. Subtle, is not how I would describe the screenwriter's skill at scattering exposition. But I have to hand it to the screenwriter, Buscemi did have some great lines. I particularly liked this exchange between the naive Lincoln and the world weary McCord:

Lincoln Six Echo: Who is "God"?
McCord: You know when you really want something, you close your eyes and wish for it really hard? God is the guy that ignores you.

Scarlett Johansson's character was great eye candy for sure, but you could have practically removed her from the film, tweaked the script a little and you would have never known there had once been a romantic side kick.

Even if you hadn't seen the trailers it would not have been hard for one to guess most the major plot points. It is a fairly predictable film, but I didn't feel that detracted much from my enjoyment and I fail to imagine how I would have injected more originality into what is a very well worn sci-fi story.

The military team hired to capture/kill Lincoln and Jordon are laughably incompetent. These guys can't drive, shoot or fight to save themselves! As for their leader played by the intense black dude Djimon Hounsou. What can I say? His character arc was contrived, sudden, predictable and unnecessary. But these baddie characters come with the territory.

The ending was unfulfilling. It felt sudden and unresolved. Helped in no way by how big and fun the middle action scenes were, the ending seemed a little pedestrian as a result.

Overall, The Island is a great example of a huge Hollywood film and I recommend it highly. If you can forgive the shift in emphasis from the sci-fi to the action then you should have a good time at the movies. But if you are the type to scrutinize the scientific aspects of a sci-fi film you better look elsewhere. Personally I'm looking forward to owning the DVD.

8/10

And for your viewing pleasure gentleman: