RottenTomatoes.com
Log In | Register | What is RT?
Found a Bug? Squash It! Report Bugs Here
  • Home
  • Movies
  • DVD
  • Celebrities
  • News
  • Critics
  • Trailers & Pictures
  • CommunityBeta
  • Box Office
  • | Best Of
  • | Certified Fresh
  • | Showtimes
RT Search Powered by Google
help icon Enhanced RT
searches on Google
Click here to turn on enhanced search results from RT on your Google searches.
 
Movies / On DVD / The Island
The Island

Rate this Movie Help Icon

  • Write a Review
  • Read Reviews
  • Add to List
  • Buy Poster External Icon
  • Visit Official Site External Icon
Bookmark and Share

The Island (2005)

  • T-Meter Critics
  • Top Critics
  • RT Community
  • My Critics
  • My Friends
  • DVD
40 %
Tomatometer
Template ImageTemplate Image

How does the Tomatometer work Help Icon

Reviews Counted:180

Fresh:72

Rotten:108

Average Rating:5.4/10

Consensus: A clone of THX 1183, Coma, and Logan's Run, The Island is another loud and bombastic Michael Bay movie where explosions and chases matter more than characters, dialogue, or plot.

Runtime: 2 hrs 16 mins

Genre: Science-Fiction/Fantasy

Synopsis: Michael Bay ("Armageddon," "Pearl Harbor") directs the futuristic action thriller "The Island," starring Ewan McGregor ("Star Wars: Episodes I, II & III," "Moulin Rouge!") and Scarlett Johansson... Michael Bay ("Armageddon," "Pearl Harbor") directs the futuristic action thriller "The Island," starring Ewan McGregor ("Star Wars: Episodes I, II & III," "Moulin Rouge!") and Scarlett Johansson ("Lost in Translation," "Girl With a Pearl Earring"). Lincoln Six-Echo (McGregor) is a resident of a seemingly utopian but contained facility in the mid-21st century. Like all of the inhabitants of this carefully controlled environment, Lincoln hopes to be chosen to go to the "The Island"—reportedly the last uncontaminated spot on the planet—until he makes a terrible discovery that everything about his existence is a lie…and that he is actually more valuable dead than alive. Together with a beautiful fellow resident named Jordan Two-Delta (Johansson), Lincoln makes a daring escape to the outside world he's never known. Now, with the forces of the institute that once housed them relentlessly hunting them down, Lincoln and Jordan engage in a desperate race for their lives. Rounding out the main cast of "The Island" are Oscar® nominee Djimon Hounsou ("In America," "Gladiator") as the leader of the security team pursuing Lincoln and Jordan; Sean Bean ("National Treasure," "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy) as the head of the Institute; Steve Buscemi ("Ghost World," "Armageddon") as a man who befriends Lincoln despite working for the institute; and Oscar® nominee Michael Clarke Duncan ("The Green Mile," "Armageddon") as another resident who is elated and envied when he is selected to go to "The Island." Michael Bay directed "The Island" from a screenplay by Caspian Tredwell-Owen and Alex Kurtzman & Roberto Orci, based on a story by Tredwell-Owen. Walter F. Parkes, Michael Bay and Ian Bryce produced the film, with Laurie MacDonald serving as executive producer. "The Island" is a co-production of DreamWorks Pictures and Warner Bros. Pictures, with DreamWorks distributing the film domestically and Warner Bros. handling the international release. -- © Dreamworks [More]

Starring: Scarlett Johansson, Ewan McGregor, Djimon Hounsou, Sean Bean

Starring: Scarlett Johansson, Ewan McGregor, Djimon Hounsou, Sean Bean, Steve Buscemi, Michael Clarke Duncan

Director: Michael Bay

Director: Michael Bay
Screenwriter: Robert Kurtzman, Roberto Orci, Caspian Tredwell-Owen
Story: Caspian Tredwell-Owen
Producer: Walter F. Parkes, Michael Bay, Ian Bryce, Laurie MacDonald
Studio: DreamWorks Distribution LLC

[See More Credits]

  • Trailers
  • Pictures
  • The Island Trailer
    >
    The Island Trailer 2
    >
1 - 2 of 2

See More Movie Trailers & Pictures

Reviews for The Island

  • T-Meter Critics
  • Top Critics
  • RT Community
  • My Critics
  • My Friends
  • DVD
 
 
41 - 60 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | |< << 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 >> >|
Arrange By:Fresh | Rotten | Comments | Name | Source | Date
 
 

Rotten to the core.

Full Review Source: Lessons of Darkness | comment Comment
07/29/05
Nick Schager
Nick Schager
Lessons of Darkness

What the clone lovers find is a new world -- it's 2019 -- of highway collisions, flying motorbikes, exploding buildings, bad acting and moral incoherence, very much like old Bay movies.

Full Review Source: Rolling Stone | comment Comment
07/28/05
Peter Travers
Peter Travers
Rolling Stone

A high-energy sci-fi thriller that's smarter, edgier and more exciting than the usual action-packed summer blockbuster.

Full Review Source: Fantastica Daily | comment Comment
07/28/05
Chuck O'Leary
Chuck O'Leary
Fantastica Daily

Since Michael Bay never knows when enough is enough, every chase is restaged over and again and the narrative matrix is as simplistic as it is repetitive.

Full Review Source: New York Observer | comment Comment
07/28/05
Rex Reed
Rex Reed
New York Observer

The Island is eventually slammed with a Michael Bay tsunami, a wave of action sequences that are so preposterous they drown the excellent premise ...

Full Review Source: Atlantic City Weekly | comment Comment
07/28/05
Lori Hoffman
Lori Hoffman
Atlantic City Weekly

Viewers will be contemplating the commentary on life, death and humanity -- after they pop Advils for their pounding headaches.

Full Review Source: Palo Alto Weekly | comment Comment
07/28/05
Tyler Hanley
Tyler Hanley
Palo Alto Weekly

The movie’s first part works as provocative sci-fi, and the second part works as mindless action mayhem, but the two parts never manage to find a satisfactory coexistence.

Full Review Source: Aisle Seat | comment Comment
07/27/05
Mike McGranaghan
Mike McGranaghan
Aisle Seat

Give Michael Bay credit for trying to address something more than pyrotechnics. (And credit as well for some of the most avant-garde montages this side of experimental film.)

Full Review Source: Film Journal International | comment Comment
07/27/05
Daniel Eagan
Daniel Eagan
Film Journal International

Phrases like 'lowest-common-denominator filmmaking' and 'ode to conspicuous consumption' seem suitable.

Full Review Source: Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC) | comment Comment
07/27/05
Ken Hanke
Ken Hanke
Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)

Veering from the "Michael Bay is the Devil" talking points, I gotta say I admire The Island for its ability to be smart, edgy, and entertaining at once. Bay, good job!

Full Review Source: Film Snobs | comment Comment
07/27/05
Jimmy O
Jimmy O
Film Snobs

Is Michael Bay the world's worst living filmmaker? Evidence continues to mount...

Full Review Source: Philadelphia Weekly | comment Comment
07/26/05
Sean Burns
Sean Burns
Philadelphia Weekly

An Island worth visiting. Bay action proves a good mix with McGregor humour.

Full Review Source: Sympatico.ca | comment Comment
07/26/05
Angela Baldassarre
Angela Baldassarre
Sympatico.ca

It is never flat-out awful.

Full Review Source: Northwest Herald (Crystal Lake, IL) | comment Comment
07/26/05
Jeffrey Westhoff
Jeffrey Westhoff
Northwest Herald (Crystal Lake, IL)

If you’re gonna sell your soul in Hollywood, The Island is about as good as it gets

Full Review Source: Bangitout.com | comment Comment
07/26/05
Jordan Hiller
Jordan Hiller
Bangitout.com

About half-way through The Island I realized what had happened: Director Michael Bay just plain went nuts behind the camera.

Full Review Source: KWQC-TV (Iowa) | comment Comment
07/26/05
Linda Cook
Linda Cook
KWQC-TV (Iowa)

The dismissal of the artistry behind this movie should be enough to disqualify a critic from ever judging a futuristic psychological action thriller fantasy again.

Full Review Source: Cinema Signals | comment Comment
07/25/05
Jules Brenner
Jules Brenner
Cinema Signals

You have Ewan McGregor and Scarlett Johansson, these terrific actors reduced to saying, 'Go, go and duck' and hanging from buildings and all that stuff. And it just falls apart.

Full Review Source: Ebert & Roeper | comment Comment
07/25/05
Richard Roeper
Richard Roeper
Ebert & Roeper

Démarre bien avant de devenir une démonstration des pires tics de son réalisateur.

Full Review Source: EnPrimeur.ca | comment Comment
07/25/05
Nicolas Lacroix
Nicolas Lacroix
EnPrimeur.ca

When Johansson whispers to McGregor, 'We are the island'; the retch factor goes into high gear.

Full Review Source: jackiekcooper.com | comment Comment
07/25/05
Jackie K. Cooper
Jackie K. Cooper
jackiekcooper.com

It veers toward the profound and then shockingly bolts for a finish line that looks a lot like box office receipt tape.

Full Review Source: Tyler Morning Telegraph (Texas) | comment Comment
07/25/05
Mark Collette
Mark Collette
Tyler Morning Telegraph (Texas)
 
 
41 - 60 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | |< << 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 >> >|
all

Latest News for The Island

March 31, 2009: The Legacy of The Matrix
1999 was one of the most important years for modern cinema. Ten years on, we're celebrating a remarkable twelve months of movies with new features around some of the year's best... More...

July 02, 2007: Critical Consensus: "Transformers" About As Much As Meets The Eye
"Transformers" comes out tomorrow with some major chips on its shoulders. The movie has to please both the hardcore and fair-weather fans, along the... More...

June 26, 2007: "Star Trek" Prequel Writers Aim to Please Everyone
If you think it's tough coming up with a "Transformers" movie that'll please both the hardcore geeks and the total newcomers, imagine how hard it must be to get... More...

March 19, 2007: Michael Bay Signs Up for "2012"
No it's not part of the series that includes "2001: A Space Odyssey" and "2010," but it looks like Michael Bay is going to helm the science-fiction adventure... More...

See All

More DVDs

Top Rentals
Tomatometer Percentage Movie
36% 36% Angels & Demons
25% 25% Four Christmases
68% 68% Funny People
95% 95% Star Trek
14% 14% The Ugly Truth

More Rentals…

New On DVD This Week
Tomatometer Percentage Movie
32% 32% Terminator Salvation
44% 44% Night at the Museum: B…
86% 86% A Christmas Tale
60% 60% Paper Heart

More New Releases…

What’s Hot On RT

Twilight Saga: Eclipse

Twilight Saga: Eclipse

5 facts straight from the cast.

Disney Animation

Disney Animation

We chart the studio's classics.

Avatar

Avatar

An exclusive look at the human hardware.

Eric Bana

Eric Bana

The Star Trek star talks cars with RT.

Other News

  • Top Stories
  • Popular
  • Interviews
 
 

Comments

 
 
Top Stories
Headlines Comments
  
  • Spielberg Hops Away from Harvey Source: Variety
20
  • Tarantino Could Have Directed Green Lantern Source: MTV
24
  • Will Duvall be Gilliam's Don Quixote? Source: Collider.com
26
  • No Hobbit Until 2012? Source: The Wrap
22
  • Don't Hold Your Breath for Hancock 2 Source: HitFix
42
  • Peter Berg Talks Battleship Source: CHUD
2
  • Summit Ponders Twilight Finale Source: Variety
159
  • First Look at Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Source: USA Today
56
  • Jeremy Renner Talks Hawkeye Possibilities Source: Superhero Hype
14
  • Todd Phillips Talks The Hangover 2 Source: Entertainment Weekly
18
Popular
Headlines Comments
  
  • Total Recall: Natalie Portman's Best Movies
69
  • Five Favorite Films with Jason Reitman
47
  • Critics Consensus: Everybody's Fine Is Just OK
46
  • 10 Horrifically Profitable Films
45
  • Box Office Guru Wrapup: Vampires and Football Break Thanksgiving Records
42
  • Five Favorite Films with Jesse Ventura
39
  • Sundance 2010: RT's 10 Most Anticipated Movies
31
  • Awards Tour: National Board of Review Winners List!
25
  • Weekly Ketchup: Tron Team to Remake The Black Hole
24
  • RT on DVD & Blu-Ray: Terminator Salvation and a Smithsonian Battle
22
Interviews
Headlines Comments
  
  • Director Ruben Fleischer Talks Zombieland
2
  • "I Don't Hate Women": Lars von Trier on Antichrist
17
  • Eric Bana talks Love the Beast - RT Interview
12
  • Fight Club Sound Designer Reflects on Film's 10th Anniversary
22
  • James Schamus talks Taking Woodstock - RT Interview
8
  • John Hurt Talks Harry Potter, Quentin Crisp and Alien - The RT Interview
15
  • Terry Gilliam Talks Doctor Parnassus
22
  • Wes Anderson Talks Fantastic Mr. Fox - RT Interview
9
  • Wolverine Creator Len Wein Talks About the Film
28
  • Gavin Hood Talks Wolverine; Possible Sequel
28
 
 

Sponsored Links

Around The Network

  • The Island at Rotten Tomatoes
  • The Island at IGN
  • The Island at AskMen

Fresh Links

Featured
RT on YouTube
RT on YouTube External Link

Subscribe to RT's YouTube channel and don't miss a second of our cracking video content.

RT on Twitter
RT on Twitter External Link

Follow Rotten Tomatoes and join us as we tweet about the week's releases.

 
 
About| Site Map| Help| RT To Go| Contact Us| Critics Submission| Linking to RT| Licensing| Movie List| Celebs List| Newsletter
IGN Logo

IGN.com | GameSpy | Comrade | Arena | FilePlanet | GameSpy Technology
TeamXbox | Planets | Vaults | VE3D | CheatsCodesGuides | GameStats | GamerMetrics
AskMen.com | Rotten Tomatoes | Direct2Drive | Green Pixels


By continuing past this page, and by the continued use of this site, you agree to be bound by and abide by the User Agreement.
Copyright 1998-2009, IGN Entertainment, Inc. About IGN | Support | Advertise | Privacy Policy | User Agreement | Subscribe to RT's XML feed! IGN RSS Feeds
IGN's enterprise databases running Oracle, SQL and MySQL are professionally monitored and managed by Pythian Remote DBA
Certain product data ©1995-present Muze, Inc. For personal use only. All rights reserved.