Back Shelf Beauties
by Willie Waffle
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The
Island
This movie gave me the chills, but not just for the story and action. In
this look at the future, it became very clear to me that there are no fat
people in the future! I kept looking and looking, hoping to see one friend
of Ben and Jerry, but all I saw were models, actors and one sad bald guy.
I almost dropped my ice cream into my tub of popcorn. Is Michael Bay setting
out a grand vision for a future without pleasantly plump and jolly people
like me, or is he just hoping? Either way, I might have to start getting
in shape. What Hollywood wants, Hollywood gets.
Ewan McGregor stars as Lincoln Six-Echo - a hospital patient in 2019 told
he is one of few survivors of a world-wide catastrophe. In a very controlled,
high tech environment, Lincoln and other survivors wait to win a special
lottery. Winners are sent to a magical utopia, The Island, where they live
a perfect life, while losers continue to live in a sterile hospital where
they lack personal freedom and their every move is watched. Unfortunately,
Lincoln has started having nightmares, developed a forbidden romantic interest
in another patient, Jordan Two-Delta (Scarlett Johansson), and is questioning
authority and his reasons for existence. All of this has put the doctor in
charge of the facility, Merrick (Sean Bean), on edge. Soon, Lincoln makes
a shocking discovery and asks Jordan to join him in his escape (sure, Lincoln
asks the hot babe to join him, not the lonely bald guy who eats breakfast
with him every day).
What has Lincoln discovered? Can he and Jordan escape their captors?
The Island is exactly what you expect
from a summer action film with plenty of explosions, an amazing car chase
and a beautiful woman (I love you Scarlett! Ever since
Ghost World!), but, it also has a good
story that brings up an interesting moral and ethical question worth pondering,
even if the script doesn't fully explore the quandary.
Director Michael Bay does a fantastic job establishing the tone of the story
by showing us the heavy security Lincoln and Jordan live under, the hope
each patient feels during lottery time and the beginnings of a romantic
relationship between the two leads. Bay pays particular attention to Lincoln's
growing curiosity about life and his surroundings, which helps build the
tension and makes the audience realize they also wouldn't want to be in this
seemingly safe environment.
Of course, once Lincoln and Jordan decide to make their escape, the movie
starts to excel. Bay films action scenes the way they are meant to be seen.
Too often, directors fail to shoot the scenes in an easy-to-follow manner,
but Bay is more skilled than those hacks (none of that shaky camera junk
passed off as trendy). You can follow the action and get caught up in the
thrill of the chase as Lincoln and Jordan use every means necessary for escape
(every means necessary except nudity). It's a great thrill ride, but even
thrill rides need endings, and that's where The
Island goes slightly awry.
Writers Alex Kurtzman, Roberto Orci and Capian Tredwell-Owen, along with
Bay, seem to be confused as to how The
Island should end. The escape scenes give Bay and company focus,
but they lose focus when trying to figure out where to go next with the story.
Kurtzman, Orci and Tredwell-Owen don't provide great dialogue to help us
understand Jordan and Lincoln's growing attraction for each other (although,
there is a decent explanation of this), and they need to do a better job
developing Albert Laurent (Djimon Hounsou) - the man hired to capture the
wayward patients. His feelings and background become more important as the
story develops, but it's sprung on us rather than shown slowly, so we can
savior and understand it. Also, it would have given Hounsou something interesting
to do, which would be very welcome from a talented actor such as him.
Overall, The Island is a good movie that
will leave you satisfied, even if the ending is a bit contrived. McGregor
and Johansson do a great job with the action, and make something out of a
basic script. The dialogue may leave something to be desired, but they make
the characters interesting and likable.
3 Waffles (Out Of 4)
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