The Island

Review by Will Barker

Fusing the themes of immortality and the endurance of the human spirit, the new big budget sci-fi thriller starring Ewan McGregor, Scarlett Johansson, Sean Bean and Steve Buscemi demands your attention from the instant the movie rolls, as we're introduced to planet Earth, circa 2019.

McGregor's character, Lincoln Six-Echo, takes a leak after waking from an inscrutable nightmare at the start of film, at which point in time a small digital display above the futuristic urinal reads out "too much sodium" in reference to analysis of his pee-pee.

This particular future is a perfectly controlled series of sterile exercises; work and leisure are strictly controlled and you must live a healthy life. Even the local constabulary frowns upon things like prolonged physical contact with other humans.

Why are all these rules in place? The story has it that there was a huge contamination on the Earth's surface -- no further detail is given, perhaps nuclear fallout? -- that has basically eradicated much of Earth's life, and everyone lives in massive towers, all of which are completely self-contained from the Earth's noxious crust.

However, there is one area of the planet's surface that hasn't yet been contaminated - The Island. Everyday a random lottery is drawn and one lucky person gets to pack their bags and live a life of luxury.

The problem for Lincoln Six-Echo is that he is too curious.

Why is he forbidden from eating bacon at breakfast? Who cares about sodium levels… And what is this mysterious Island all about? How did it escape the contamination? His curiosity is the catalyst that initially drives the story and the first half of The Island is a brilliant introduction to one possible future, and exceedingly engrossing entertainment as a result.

I was sucked into the quasi-futuristic world quite comprehensively, and it's obvious big bucks were spent on things like the set designs. Director Michael Bay managed to keep his explosive enthusiasm in check for the first part of the movie, and it pays off handsomely as the audience is slowly introduced to the characters and the unfamiliar yet exciting new world.

Things take a big twist about half-way through the movie and, without saying too much (the bloody TV ads already do that), the movie really goes in action overdrive.

Both halves could have been entwined with more style, but at the end of the day this first half thriller/second half action movie is highly entertaining.

Ewan McGregor puts in a good performance in The Island, portraying Lincoln Six-Echo with a good degree of restraint, despite his character's obvious curiosity with the world at large and the constraints of living within an enclosed society. The dialogue isn't always luminous (but is often amusing) and he manages to do a lot with the little he's given, testament to his abilities as an astute actor.

Scarlett Johansson plays the best-friend-cum-love-interest, Jordan Two-Delta, and like McGregor manages to deliver a performance that's engaging at worst. She's also drop dead gorgeous in the white tracksuits that constitute the 2019 garb.

It's often a dark movie, one that has a very dim view of the post modern world, and much of this darkness is embodied in Sean Bean's character, the Institute's forbidding 'Doctor'. He does a good job with calm and collected emotional responses until the bitter end, but there is light in the form of Steve Buscemi's character, who provides a good dose of humour along the way as Lincoln Six-Echo's engineer friend.

Djimon Hounsou, who you may remember from Gladiator, also has a sizeable role in The Island as an ex-military man, but is under utilised in his 'special ops' bad-guy role and becomes predictable towards the film end.

Another interesting facet of this movie is that there's only a mild sprinkling of computer generated imagery (CGI) - the hover bikes namely - and the action sequences are very exciting.

The stunts are impressive and it makes such an incredible difference to see live action stunts again. For too long now we've been fed CGI dressed up as 'reality' (Star Wars anyone?), and this flick is a return to the good old days of bone-crunching, glass-smashing action.

There's also the now-obligatory highway chase scene, which again is barely touched by the computers, making it highly memorable with plenty of slow-mo destruction. There are also some very creative chain-reacted stunt sequences that appear to be very chaotic. In other words, they're really difficult to second guess, and that made them flow nicely on the big screen, what with that added element of uncertainty.

There are a lot of chase scenes in the movie too, and these work quite well if you don't mind the odd shaky camera and obscure angle.

Don't wait for the DVD - this is best digested in front of a massive screen, complete with surround sound; the sensory overload is tops. There's an intelligent script in there and, while the end of the movie left a lot to be desired, this is indeed a rare surprise from Michael 'Boom Boom' Bay, whose storytelling methods are definitely improving.

3.5 out of 5

The Island
Australian release: Thursday the 28th of July, 2005
Cast: Ewan McGregor, Scarlett Johansson, Djimon Hounsou, Sean Bean, Steve Buscemi.
Directors: Michael Bay.
Website: Click here.

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