**** (4 stars)The Island (2005)
Genre: Action/Sci-fi
136 minutes - PG13 rating
Director: Michael Bay
Starring: Ewan McGregor, Scarlett Johansson, Sean Bean, Djimon Hounsou, Steve Buscemi
Brief Plot: In the year 2019 after the contamination of most of the earth, Lincoln Six Echo (McGregor) lives in a utopian-style world in which everything he needs is provided for him, and the sole future of his life will begin when he is picked from among his peers to travel to "The Island". When he finds a deadly secret about the society, he and Jordan Two Delta must run... or die.
Best Audience: The Island is classic Michael Bay (explosions-a-plenty, lots of special effects, and that Michael Bay humor). That said, you won't like it if you hate sci-fi movies or plots that have meat to them. However, the Island has a lot of interesting elements to it that makes it more than lasers and futuristic machinery, and it also has Scarlett Johansson, so men you can't really go wrong here.
My Review: The Island is probably the best action movie I've watched in a very long time. As stated previously, The Island is very typical material from Bay whose resume also boasts movies like Armageddon and Transformers. But The Island is a lot more complex and deep than just a series of chases and explosions. There are very though-provoking themes that are played out in the movie and the characters (namely McGregor and Johansson) have good on-screen chemistry. Sean Bean provides a solid villain as usual and the special effects are breathtaking. The Island is very good at portraying futuristic technology. It often reminds me of Minority Report in that regard. The surprising thing is that that this film flopped at the box office when Bay's later film Transformers was a smash-hit. While Transformers was enjoyable, I feel The Island is a better film in almost every way. The Island is good entertainment with little to be disappointed with. I gave it 4 stars because it is just too good to give 3 1/2.
1 comments:
I liked this one a lot too. It was simple and flashy just like a Bay film should be like you said. I think the only reason that Transformers did better was the fact that it was a childhood thing that came to the big screen. I have to admit that I was excited about Transformers even though it just contributes to the lack of originality and creativity out there. I think Little Miss Sunshine was a good follow up review for this one.
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