The Island

I have never read The Island book, so I cannot compare it to the movie. So I will just make a few statements about the movie.

The movie had some cool scenes like big explosions and fast car chases, but the general movie was somewhat shallow. It was lacking something that I just can't put my finger on, but when you get up at the end of this movie, you really don't leave with the thought "That was a good movie".

I think one of the downfalls in it was that 75% of the movie was the two main characters running from the bad guys. It very rarely let up from the chase scenes. I have to say though, that the movie did start out with a pretty interesting aspect that they could have made into a good movie, but overall this movie flunked.

Loosely based on the sublime book "Spares" by Michael Marshall Smith, The Island is the story of one man's quest to discover the real but hidden world. Realizing he is just a clone for spare parts, he escapes his artificial world and embarks upon a journey to find his real counter part, taking a female friend (and clone) with him.

Director Michael Bay (Armageddon,The Rock)keeps the action thick and fast and there's a car chase that's almost as exciting as the one in Matrix:Reloaded. Disappointingly though, the sci fi element of the film is a let down. There are two very different styles here and they don't mix. Using present day vehicles against a futuristic back drop just doesn't work and presents quite a clash.

The Island gives only the faintest of nods to the story line of the book and instead, turns the story into a hi tech chase film. The thought provoking and very intelligent writing have been over looked sadly but Ewan McGregor and Scarlet Johansson give good performances and it's always fun to see Steve Buscemi on the screen, providing the comic relief.

Overall, The Island is great fun and presents some very exciting action. Switch off your brain before watching and you should enjoy it. Great fun.

Last year, in one of TEAM AMERICA: WORLD POLICE's side-splitting musical segments, director Michael Bay's overblown PEARL HARBOR is taken to hilarious task; the fact that this is done in what is otherwise a cheesy movie ballad makes the feat all the more funny. Truth is, Bay's bread and butter is exactly this type of onscreen bombast. Hell, he's paid huge bucks to deliver explosions galore and not much else, regardless of the material before him, whether it's a historical WWII epic (the aforementioned HARBOR), a buddy cop flick (BAD BOYS 1 and 2) or a doomsday actioner (ARMAGEDDON). Sure, all these films can benefit from some well-placed FX-driven octane, but it's the impersonal, tactless way in which Bay tells his stories that rub me the wrong way. Never passing up the opportunity to throw in a Steve Buscemi cameo or a 'dramatic' slow-motion pause backed by swelling music, you can at least say that with this guy, there's a level of consistency that I suppose one could admire.

Needless to say, I didn't walk into THE ISLAND with the highest of expectations. This can sometimes be a good thing for me. One recent example is THE FANTASTIC FOUR which, while hardly a great film, won me over with its goofy, low-rent charms. Certainly, the premise of THE ISLAND has potential: Ewan McGregor and Scarlett Johansson, two of the inhabitants of a futuristic, germ-free facility kept safe from planet-wide pollution, await being sent to an idyllic, germ-free island to help repopulate earth, only to uncover that all is not as it seems. The first half is actually pretty decent as McGregor, who like all of the facility's residents is educated at the level of a 15-year-old, breaks away from the flock and begins to question his surroundings. Unfortunately, nuance and subtlety (not to mention logic) go out the window by the time our heroes run for the facility's exit doors. The second half of the film is textbook Michael Bay: loud bangs without style or substance.

It's the inherent predictability of Bay's films that makes me cringe. Naturally, Sean Bean is cast as yet another onscreen baddie, while Djimon Hounsou plays a hired goon who inevitably finds his humanity (not to dismiss his noble roles in films like AMISTAD and IN AMERICA, but will somebody please give this talented actor something gritty and challenging to play?). While the STAR WARS films have always been raked over the coals for their wooden acting, it's telling that while McGregor pulls off a heartfelt, winning performance in George Lucas' SW prequels, his appearance here is completely devoid of his regular spark.

Depending on your taste in movies, this might actually be your idea of a fun night at the cinema. If you like your action flicks big, loud and dumb, don't hesitate to visit THE ISLAND (and I'll say this much for the director: he knows how to stage a top-notch car chase). Me, I'll stick to more interesting fare like BATMAN BEGINS or THE WAR OF THE WORLDS for my summer action-movie jollies.