The Island
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Movie Reviews of The Island
Movie Review: A pastiche of sci-fi films...
Summary: 2 Stars
The Island is a pastiche of themes and characters straight out of favorite sci-fi films dating back 30 years. Engaging camera work, motivated characters, high contrast saturated color, Scarlett Johanssen's supermodel pout and cool highway mayhem make for a fun picture, but you too will soon be counting hommages. Look for themes and actual scenes from Logan's Run, Blade Runner, Gattaca, The Terminator, Superman, Batman, Invasion of the Body Snatchers and THX1138. The nod to Life of Brian is a real hoot. (Even "the holy grail" is mentioned, but that would be a stretch.)Movie Review: A trip to the island (Arbeit macht frie)
Summary: 5 Stars
This is one of the best movies I have seen in quite some time. It is certainly the best Michael Bay movie since THE ROCK. It's also the most "cerebral" film I've ever seen Bay do. The ensemble cast is fantastic, featuring Steve Buscemi, Sean Bean, Ewan McGregor and the stunningly gorgeous Scarlett Johannson. Djimon Hounsou proves that he is much more than an impressive physique (although I've always thought him a good actor in movies like AMISTAD and GLADIATOR, anyway).
In addition to the cast and direction, the story itself is captivating and it's very, very relevant to our times. It examines the consequences of taking the extreme end of one side of medical ethics. What this movie reminded me was of a cross between LOGAN'S RUN and BRAVE NEW WORLD, with a science fiction twist in the plot.
As such, there is a wider & deeper theme of social engineering / manipulation that has nothing to do with medical ethics & everything to do with how much we can trust our government. How much of what our politicians say is true actually IS true? How worthy are the people in Washington of our trust? This is a trenchant question in this day & age of world chaos and corrupt politicians.
Of course, there is also a subtle satire on the concept of religion buried in the tapestry of the story. In this respect it is much like LOGAN'S RUN.
So, if you're looking for a good action movie that is also a science fiction movie that has a great cast & is well done, this one is for you. Just remember: Arbeit macht frie!
Movie Review: It was interesting and fun, and kinda scary!
Summary: 4 Stars
Michael Bay exemplifies what Hollywood movie should look and feel. The movie's main theme is action packed science fiction and some love story in the middle. However, I find some of the scenes a little bit grainy and hard to really catch the essential elements related to the story. True, Bay showcased a lot of the scenes in such a way that provide the scenes in visual grandeur. This can be attributed to his other movies together with Jerry Bruckheimer like Armageddon, The Rock, Pearl Harbor and Bad Boys sequels. And the very first time that Bay attempted to do this by his own.
The main element of the story is about clones. But, the inner meaning lies on the understanding when we asked the question of who we are, why are we here and what is my purpose in life?
Ewan Mcgregor in a movie about clones, doesn't he have enough with Star Wars already? Mcgregor's character Tom Lincoln is the main protagonist of the story and goes on to find the answer he has been looking for and provide the fulcrum in relating it to the audience as we discover tiny bits of information from one segment to another.
Scarlett Johansson star as Sarah Jordan who was really beautiful in Lost in Translation, but this time around she was able to provide her other acting side which is action. Other notables in the film include Djimon Hounsou, Michael Clarke Duncan, Sean Bean and Steve Buscemi, but the focus was still on the two main characters.
Overall, there is nothing new about the story and sort of like reminds you of Logan's Run. I guess other blockbusters that come out this summer would definitely overshadow the movie. And in the long run it would remain as one of the movies you watch and enjoyed but forget after a while.
Movie Review: Exile Island
Summary: 3 Stars
Michael Bay has a lot of good movies under his umbrella. However, whether producing or directing, greatness has eluded him. The aversion to greatness held true under his direction of The Island.
The Island is a good movie. Tons of action. Funny moments. Good suspense. And good acting by A-list actors. It's has a very cool story concept....
It's too bad that cool story concepts with clever twists are often ruined for viewers that have not yet seen a film by reviewers that think it's a good idea to tell the story of what happened in a movie instead of giving thoughts on whether it is worthy of viewing. The neat little plot twist in The Island is so "out" that most viewing this movie already know the strange intricacies of the world that the two stars live in.
Kudos to Michael Bay for not divulging the twist in the trailers to the movie.
Hopefully you're reading this, and only this, as your basis to view, because I won't spoil it for you. I will say that Scarlett Johansson and Ewan McGregor are excellent in their rolls as two escapees from an isolated colony designed to keep out the contaminations of a world gone bad.
McGregor and Johansson flee through a futuristic city into extremely over the top situations where they survive what no else could possibly survive through. And this sensational, death defying ability of the two to stay alive really takes away from what could have been a much more realistic look at a possibility of something that could happen in the not too distant future.
At least if the plot has already been ruined for you, the movie's entertainment value is not completely lost. It's a fun movie to watch that you can catch on cable as of this writing; no need to buy or rent unless you don't get any of the pay channels.
So if you've got no new movies to look at in your queue and you see that there's a showing of The Island in your On Demand service...go for it. It's time well spent watching some Survivors getting cast off to Exile Island.
Movie Review: c. francis 'movie lover'
Summary: 5 Stars
This film surprises you. I started watching it because of Ewan McGregor. It started out kinda of interesting and kept my attention untill the girl showed up, but it is not a love move. Far from it. Ewans character was intriquing and you begin to wonder what IS going on. If you stay with the film you will be glad. The casting was the best. The Production and Directing are great and the Editing was FANTASTIC. The movie surprised me. It draws you in and keeps you involved with the runaways. Its a thrill ride. Sorry if the review reads like a dimwit but I have never written a review although I read others. but this movie was, again, fantastic. Great. Watch it!