In the mind-numbing final hour... you stop being flabbergasted and just start praying for the end of the movie, this horrible Island vacation.
The Island (2005)
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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
Reviews for The Island
The Best Sci-Fi/Action Film of The Year has Arrived! Set Sail for The Island!
High-octane action/thriller with the ominous premise of genetic cloning
But despite all of Bay's best efforts, he still managed, through sheer dumb luck, to wind up with a cracking good sci-fi adventure that doesn't falter until the second half.
Dimwitted, action-flailing mediocrity....Michael Bay...[said,] "I always say, '**** the critics'"...I'll tell you what I always say: "Michael Bay is a tool."
...an over-simplification of the film's more heady implications and...a whole lot of excuses to blow s**t up.
Michael Bay delivers what may be a perfect summer movie, with brains and guts beneath sleek, muscular knockout action.
Contrary to how it appears, The Island is the same overdirected mess that Bay has been serving up for 10 years, only this time disguised as a creative leap forward.
Bay's relentless bombast is no less irritating here than it was in Pearl Harbor, or Bad Boys II, or The Rock.
I don't care what anyone says: A Michael Bay movie that boasts a few thought-provoking ideas is absolutely a step in the right direction.
The Island is exactly what you expect from a summer action film with plenty of explosions, an amazing car chase and a beautiful woman.
Michael Bay is a master at creating money shots for trailers but -- outside most of The Rock and, at least, the attack sequence in Pearl Harbor -- has consistently failed to stimulate anything but the muscles which create migraines.
The first act holds such promise, but by the end, Bay deflates all rooting interest and throws logic out the window in favor of shootouts and been-there-done-that car chases.
Slick entertainment for those satisfied by the well-established genre of mindless summer movies.
For movies of this type, it rarely gets better than 'you could do worse.'
Nothing the actors could have done would have lifted 'The Island' beyond video-game level
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