The Island
Director: Michael Bay
(PG-13, 136 min.)
Cast: Ewan MacGregor, Scarlett Johansson, Steve Buscemi, Michael Clarke Duncan
It is difficult to review a movie like The Island without revealing some of the plot twists and turns. Most of those secrets can certainly be gleaned from the actual trailers for the movie or interviews with the stars themselves, but if you're looking for spoilers - I'm not giving you any.
The Island is really two films in one. The first half of the film is more of a sci-fi allegory, involving Lincoln Six-Echo (Ewan McGregor) and Jordan Two-Delta (Scarlett Johansson) living in a seemingly utopian, but contained facility in the mid 21st Century. They are supposedly survivors of The Contamination - an event that wiped out most of humanity and left the world unlivable.
Each resident of this facility hopes and dreams to win a special lottery to "The Island" - one of the only places on Earth supposedly uncontaminated.
But, Lincoln Six-Echo soon learns a few truths about what is really going on and that's when the movie turns into a classic action flick, complete with the car chases, explosions and more explosions.
Both McGregor and Johansson deliver solid performances, as do fellow cast members Steve Buscemi and Sean Bean. Director Michael Bay (Bad Boys 2, Armageddon) is in fine form as well, delivering heart-stopping action and a story that is a bit more compelling than his past works.
Overall, The Island is both a great action flick and pretty decent sci-fi film, worthy of the admission price, a bag of popcorn and an hour and a half of suspended disbelief.
