SHEDDING INK

The Island

Other reviews had led me to believe The Island was Michael Bay's first decent film. Instead, he started with a decent concept and turned it into the Swiss cheese of movies. The only entertainment to be had is trying to pick out all the plot holes and continuity gaps, and there are plenty of those to keep you occupied during the film's egregious 136-minute running time, not to mention some of the worst product placement in the history of film. You'll just have to trust me on this, because if I start listing them this review could go on endlessly. Sufficed to say, The Island is one big, dumb summer movie, and I should have known better. The only redeeming value is eye candy: for the girls, McGregor and Hounsou; for the guys, Johansson and one spectacular action set-piece (with its own set of continuity problems). When, oh when will Michael Bay learn that explosions and slow-motion photography do not a film make?

- July 30, 2005

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The Island (2005)

Two clones escape the facility where they were created and try to survive in the outside world while the facility's operator tries to have them killed to cover up his illegal activities.


Directed by Michael Bay


Written by Caspian Tredwell-Owen and Alex Kurtzman & Roberto Orci


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

136 minutes
Rated PG-13 (violence, sexual content, language, Scarlett Johansson)

Grade: D+