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Thank you, Michael Bay, for reminding me exactly why I don’t like action films.
Bay’s latest movie, The Island, is basically a 136-minute hodgepodge of sci-fi plot and brainless action sequences. The story depicts a futuristic world where human clones are created for the super-wealthy (to be used for organ transplants to help their “sponsors” live longer, healthier lives). The clones are kept in a military bunker, unaware of their purpose in life. Thanks to altered memories, they believe that they are the only survivors of a widespread contamination of the planet (this keeps them from wanting to venture outdoors), and they’re kept optimistic by the promise of The Island—the one non-contaminated spot on Earth. Of course, there is no “Island.” The clones believe that “winners” are randomly picked from a lottery, while, in reality it’s the clones that are selected for harvesting that are chosen.
Everything goes wrong when a naturally curious clone, Lincoln Six-Echo (Ewan McGregor) discovers the secret of The Island and escapes with a friend, Jordan Two-Delta (Scarlett Johansson). Aided by a facility worker played by Steve Buscemi, and pursued by government officials, Lincoln and Jordan race to find their sponsors in hopes of saving themselves as well as their friends back at the bunker.
The biggest problem with this film, I think, is that it had the potential to be a really good story, with chilling commentary on the dangers of human cloning. Even though the storyline was similar in many ways to Logan’s Run and Minority Report, it displayed enough originality to stand on its own. Unfortunately, too often Michael Bay exploited the plot as an excuse for lots of special effects, fast car chases, and huge explosions.
The Island isn’t a complete waste of time, however. The non-action sequences that focus more on the story are interesting, and the actors’ performances are quite good when they’re not just screaming and running for their lives. Scarlett Johansson is more than just a pretty face as the lead female, and Sean Bean gives a chilling performance as the amoral owner of the cloning facility. Steve Buscemi gives a quirky depth to a character that’s mostly there for exposition, and Ewan McGregor—as always—shows off his fine acting chops (most notably in several scenes containing both Lincoln Six-Echo and his sponsor, Tom Lincoln, both played by McGregor).
While The Island does have its problems, it’s still pretty entertaining in a guilty-pleasure sort of way. I wouldn’t recommend rushing out to theaters to see it, but the DVD might be worth your time in a few months. At least then you can fast-forward through the more tedious action sequences and just enjoy the story.
