The Island
cast: Ewan McGregor, Scarlett Johansson
The good: probably had more budget than our entire country
The bad: although it's wasted on a terribly boring script
Director Michael Bay is known as the Hollywood version of just about any rock star in history -- cool, no-nonsense, and over-the-top. For this, he's either famous or infamous in the film industry. Famous because he churns out films which defy (or put into shock) normal film budgets (The Rock, Armageddon), delivering mega explosions and thrills no one seems to be able to match up to; infamous for the lack of "soul" of many, if not all of his movies. The Island, his latest blockbuster extravaganza, I'm afraid, falls into the latter category.
Lincoln Six Echo (McGregor) is a clone. He is just one of the many thousands of 'insurance policies' produced by this semi-legal and all-together creepy company run by a certain Merrick (Sean Bean). These clones are raised, kept in a secure facility, and made to believe that one so-called "Island" is the only remaining naturally-habitable bastion on earth, after a contamination apparently ravaged the planet. This keeps them in a satisfactory behavior so that they can properly develop in time for use by their respective sponsors who will use their body parts for various causes. Lincoln, bored of having to be able to do nothing aside from waiting for a lottery which picks clones who'll be transferred to the Island (actually, the lottery winners are those whose time has come to be, for lack of a better term, consumed), escapes from the facility totting Jordan Two Delta (Johansson).
As they try to unravel this conspiracy to the public (Merrick, it seems, is breaking a couple laws on cloning such as allowing the products to develop consciousness -- a key factor in the reliability of their body parts.), Bay furnishes us with enough explosions, debris, and gunfire to last 100 Filipino action flicks. They're all exciting and fun to watch, as is the beautiful scenery and locales features, the marvelous production sets, and the utterly convincing near-future motiff. This film is a treasure for eye-candy lovers. Yet, even with two fantastic actors at the helm, plus a bevy of equally fantastic supporting cast, the film fails to capture the imagination after the initial hoopla.
Part of this problem is the lackluster script. Bay films tend to have scripts which are on the -- how can I say this --weird side. Take The Rock, Armageddon, Pearl Harbor, and the two Bad Boys, and you'll see that there seems to be a preoccupation with bountiful production values as opposed to a tight, engrossing script (I'm not saying Bay films are bad, I loved Armageddon, but the trend cannot be ignored). So whenever there are no pyrotechnics in the big screen, you're better off catching a few winks. You won't miss any plot points, because there aren't any.
When production values triumph over quality storytelling, we get crap like Matrix: Revolutions, but when production values complement quality storytelling, then we get bits of heaven like in the LOTR series. What do you think was the premise behind The Island? (2/5)
The good: probably had more budget than our entire country
The bad: although it's wasted on a terribly boring script
Director Michael Bay is known as the Hollywood version of just about any rock star in history -- cool, no-nonsense, and over-the-top. For this, he's either famous or infamous in the film industry. Famous because he churns out films which defy (or put into shock) normal film budgets (The Rock, Armageddon), delivering mega explosions and thrills no one seems to be able to match up to; infamous for the lack of "soul" of many, if not all of his movies. The Island, his latest blockbuster extravaganza, I'm afraid, falls into the latter category.
Lincoln Six Echo (McGregor) is a clone. He is just one of the many thousands of 'insurance policies' produced by this semi-legal and all-together creepy company run by a certain Merrick (Sean Bean). These clones are raised, kept in a secure facility, and made to believe that one so-called "Island" is the only remaining naturally-habitable bastion on earth, after a contamination apparently ravaged the planet. This keeps them in a satisfactory behavior so that they can properly develop in time for use by their respective sponsors who will use their body parts for various causes. Lincoln, bored of having to be able to do nothing aside from waiting for a lottery which picks clones who'll be transferred to the Island (actually, the lottery winners are those whose time has come to be, for lack of a better term, consumed), escapes from the facility totting Jordan Two Delta (Johansson).
As they try to unravel this conspiracy to the public (Merrick, it seems, is breaking a couple laws on cloning such as allowing the products to develop consciousness -- a key factor in the reliability of their body parts.), Bay furnishes us with enough explosions, debris, and gunfire to last 100 Filipino action flicks. They're all exciting and fun to watch, as is the beautiful scenery and locales features, the marvelous production sets, and the utterly convincing near-future motiff. This film is a treasure for eye-candy lovers. Yet, even with two fantastic actors at the helm, plus a bevy of equally fantastic supporting cast, the film fails to capture the imagination after the initial hoopla.
Part of this problem is the lackluster script. Bay films tend to have scripts which are on the -- how can I say this --weird side. Take The Rock, Armageddon, Pearl Harbor, and the two Bad Boys, and you'll see that there seems to be a preoccupation with bountiful production values as opposed to a tight, engrossing script (I'm not saying Bay films are bad, I loved Armageddon, but the trend cannot be ignored). So whenever there are no pyrotechnics in the big screen, you're better off catching a few winks. You won't miss any plot points, because there aren't any.
When production values triumph over quality storytelling, we get crap like Matrix: Revolutions, but when production values complement quality storytelling, then we get bits of heaven like in the LOTR series. What do you think was the premise behind The Island? (2/5)
posted by NaCl at Saturday, July 23, 2005
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