SNMR 7.17: "The Island"

GREEN'S "HE'S IN A CAN... TAKING A DUMP" REVIEW:


Lincoln Six Echo (Ewan McGregor) lives in a Utopia-like, contained world due to contamination on the outside. For he and other "survivors," the motivation for living is the chance to win the lottery and a life outside on "The Island" which is the only uncontaminated spot left on the entire planet. Or so he's been told. After a conversation with his friend Mac (Steve Buscemi) from Sector Five, Lincoln finds a large flying insect and captures it, leading him to ask all kinds of questions. Then, when his friend Jordan Two Delta (Scarlett Johansson) wins the lottery all hell breaks loose.

I borrowed this movie several weeks ago from the library as an afterthought along with some other DVD's. The library copy was scratched and skipped near the beginning and near the end of the movie. Still, I was impressed enough to buy it for myself and then watched it again on the day it arrived. I've watched it a total of five times now. I even convinced my parents and brother to watch it and they all liked it.

This may be action director guru Michael Bay's best movie yet. It provides a compelling story, plenty of action with stuff blowing up, chase scenes, bad guys, good guys, even a love story. Everything you could want in a movie - even a modern, relevant and highly controversial topic with underlying social and political significance.

The entire cast is superb. This is the film Ewan McGregor starred in right after Star Wars Episode III was released and he is excellent here, as is Scarlett Johansson, who may be this generation's Jean Arthur. The supporting cast includes Sean Bean (Dr. Merrick), Djimon Hounsou (Albert Laurent), Steve Buscemi (James "Mac" McCord), Ethan Phillips (Jones Three Echo) and Michael Clarke Duncan (Starkweather Two Delta).

Michael Bay's direction is excellent, blending CGI action with real life virtually seamlessly. The screenplay was written by Caspian Tredwell Owen, Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman. It borrows elements from such movies as Logan's Run, The Matrix, Coma, The Sixth Day, Minority Report and Blade Runner but is far from a carbon copy of any of those wonderful films.

The DVD contains a well-done (but too short for my liking) how we made the movie featurette with some cast and crew interviews added in.

For the life of me I can't see how I overlooked this movie for four years. Rent it. Buy it. Watch it. This movie is a must see.

***** out of *****

The Island (2005, PG-13, 136 minutes), starring Ewan McGregor, Scarlett Johansson, Sean Bean, Djimon Hounsou, and Steve Buscemi. The story was written by Caspian Tredwell-Owen. Screenplay written by Caspian Tredwell-Owen, Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci. The film was directed by Michael Bay.