(non-spoiler review)
Thanks to a timely phone call to Jeff this afternoon I got invited to my second sneak preview of the week: The Island. I promise a no-spoiler review though it may be difficult. Cut from the same cloth as movies like Equilibrium, Gattaca, and Minority Report it is safe to say that if you enjoyed those movies you will enjoy The Island. In fact, as much as I enjoyed all three of those movies I would rate The Island a notch above them. Simply put, setting aside Star Wars: ROTS (it is in a category of its own) this is my second favorite movie of the summer behind Batman Begins.
I must admit to some initial concerns about this movie when I discovered it was directed by the infamous Michael Bay. With his penchant for blowing things up in lieu of any type of plot, The Island could have quickly become another Pearl Harbor. Surprisingly it did not. This is a first rate action/suspense film. I won’t discuss the story as to do so would ruin the fun. The bare-bones plot is this: a group of men and women live in a safe, sterile, not-unhappy environment in which they work and play and wait. They wait for the opportunity, via lottery, to be chosen to live on The Island, a veritable Garden of Eden and the only safe, non-contaminated area left on Earth. But as in any good suspense tale, all is not what meets the eye.
At a little over 2 hours The Island takes the time to let the story unfold. Suspicion is present from the outset but the gist of what is going on is revealed little by little, allowing the viewer time to absorb the details before the action kicks in. There are so many areas where this film could’ve gone wrong and it is a credit to Michael Bay and company that it managed to keep a balance between all the aspects of the film. Tension, suspense, mystery, paranoia, action, romance and explosions are all present. Yes, there are explosions, but for once they add to rather than distract from the film. There is a very situation specific humorous element (NO SPOILERS!!!) that could have easily grown tiresome yet they went away from it at the right time.
Just like War of the Worlds and the recently reviewed Stealth this movie is a big screen knockout thanks to top-notch effects. The special effects and camera angles are amazing, especially during a highway chase scene reminiscent of Matrix: Reloaded and Final Destination 2. The sound effects were incredible as well, especially in the new theatre where we saw the movie. Lucasfilm had a hand in the effects and if you listen closely you can hear the pod racer sounds from Star Wars: The Phantom Menace in the chase scene.
What kept this film from becoming a cliched action-film-set-in-the-future was the casting. Ewan McGregor and Scarlett Johansson were terrific. It is interesting seeing the difference it makes when you take a movie like this and fill the roles with stars who can actually act. Ewan shows that he can play a believable man-on-the-run and Scarlett holds her own quite nicely in the action sequences. Sean Bean plays the facility director to absolute perfection and Djimon Hounsou is excellent as a Defense Department hired gun. Toss in roles filled by Michael Clark Duncan, Ethan Phillips, and Steve Buscemi and you find yourself with a cast that adds depth and character to The Island.
I can say no more without revealing details so I will tell you to take a trip to The Island and return to tell me how much you enjoyed it. I liked it so much that I called my wife upon leaving the theatre to tell her that I am taking her and the girls (Tori and her friend Alyssa) to see it Friday evening. It was fun and exciting…and I got cool mini posters (same as pic above) for the girls and myself as a bonus!
I’m going to have to wait forever before it’s released here. Hmmm.
I’m sure I left a comment here, seems to have been eradicated though. Ah well, what can you do. I haven’t been impressed by the trailers for this, but if Sean Bean is there I’ll go see it. Facility Director sounds like Sean is playing his usual “big US film role” of bad guy then. Why can’t he ever be the hero?
He was kind of heroic in LOTR and, though brief, he was a good guy in Equilibrium.
This movie is getting 2 star reviews on average which surprises me. Roger Ebert likes it though so at least someone agrees with me!
The trailers really stink. I saw a trailer on the internet that was very intriguing and suspenseful and the trailers they’ve shown in the theatre are really bad.
Sorry Anne! 🙁
Yeah, but if he plays a good guy in a big film he always dies. Equilibrium was a good premise badly executed. I mean puppy dogs and classical music? But the martial-art-gun fights scenes were worth watching.
And see I really enjoyed Equilibrium as is. I also have to agree with something Jeff said last night which is that The Island and Mr. and Mrs. Smith are probably dead equals in the enjoyment factor. Both are action oriented but Smith is fun for the banter between the characters even more than the action.
poop.. i have to wait till august.
because…..?????
Hi Carl, Michele sent me over. I’ve just had a look at your site and like it alot. I am also a big Diana Rigg fan, so I was pleasantly surprised! Have a great weekend.
Finally! A Diana Rigg fan! I don’t think my post the other day did anything to win people over to her or The Avengers. Ah well….can’t have 63 comments every day (LOL!!!)
Just saw it for a second time…took the wife and kid…and kid…as promised. Tori and Alyssa came out wide-eyed enthusiastically praising its entertainment value and Mary approved as well.
I love the music at the end of the movie. Very inspiring.
This calls for another ‘Carl, come and babysit my kids’ episode.
Will do…will have to be middle of the week probably!
Went to The Island last night. This movie rocks!!! A MUST SEE. 2 thumbs up & 1 pinky toe.
A clean jam-free pinky toe or just any pinky toe? 🙂
Sounds fun. I liked Minority Report.
Let us know when you need us to watch the kiddos…
The Island, very much like Minority Report, is a huge product placement movie. You see brand names everywhere! A stroke of brilliance was including the actual ads for Johansson’s Calvin Klein work and making it work within the story. I had noticed in viewing 2 that they passed a place called Johnny Rockets and just looked it up to realize it is an actual chain of restaurants. You learn something new every day!
Great review, Carl. Sums up nicely how I also felt about the film. Great summer popcorn flick. Nice to see the subject matter out there, too. It’s really an important topic that we may have to deal with in our life times sooner than we think.
Hi, Michele sent me!
Nice site!
I’m betting Michael Bay feels like jumping off a bridge after this weekends’ dismal opening. I really think poor trailers (in which they give away too much of the plot) coupled with critics that were extra harsh on the movie simply because they hate Bay really went a long way towards this tanking. It will be interesting to see if it can get anywhere close to making back the investment. 12.1 million dollar opening weekend for a 122 million dollar movie isn’t good!
Carl, something just occurred to me. If you want to keep your movie geek cred, you’re going to have to post a negative review of a movie some time! 😛
I just happen to (mostly) be smart enough to go to movies that I know I’ll like. I thought for sure that I was going to get to hate on Stealth BIG TIME and then it turned out to have such fun special effects that the only thing negative that could be said about it is that it doesn’t really have any story but everyone knew that the first time the showed the trailer! I was gonna post about Sideways when I saw it because, though the acting was incredible, I thought the movie overall wasn’t that great but then so many people had already seen it and liked it that I didn’t want to just be a voice of dissention.
All in all, I’m not a “critic” and generally if I post about a movie its because I liked it and want others to give it a shot.