Review of The Island (2005) by Dewey F — 31 Mar 2012

Going somewhere?

A super stylish futuristic sci-fi thriller.

The story: It's hard to explain without giving away crucial plot points so here's the basics... In a futuristic society, people must live by strict rules put in place by a controlling government. It's a movie that goes back and forth on the entertainment, on the one hand it's really stylish and fun to watch for the imagery and set design, but on the other hand it's long. It clocks in at about 136 minutes, that's about two hours and fifteen minutes! Is it necessary to make a movie of this nature so damned long? It's pace is nice for the most part, but once it gets to the end it kind of drags on, and you might find yourself just wanting to get it over with. But complaints of length aside, it's one of those that's intended to make you think and question morality, so maybe those thoughts and questions need all that time... Or maybe the movie could have been shorter... Like so many other films out there, it's completely subjective, some will overlook the length for it's deeper meanings and some won't.

The Cast: Ewan McGregor, Scarlett Johansson, Sean Bean... Ewan McGregor is Lincoln Six Echo, a man searching for the truth and questioning his existence. This isn't his greatest role, but I think we can all agree that it's hardly his worst *cough*Robots*cough*... Just kidding, Robots wasn't his worst... He's kind of hit or miss here though, as he's got a great childlike quality to him, but it's a quality that will wear thin as the film progresses. There's a connection to be felt here with him, but once again the length of the film takes it's toll as by the time it's over you might just feel a little less for him. Scarlett Johansson is Jordan Two Delta, she gives a great performance here as the naive girl looking forward to her bright future. She shares the same childlike quality as McGregor but since you see less of her, it manages to stay a little more endearing a little bit longer, though it still wears thin once you've invested a good 100 minutes or so into the film. Sean Bean is Merrick, he's the government, the man, the villain, whatever you want to call him, you'll be taken in by charm and love to hate him. He's got the least amount of time on screen but he pulls off the best performance here.

One to Five Scale: 3.

Stylish, intriguing, and long... A lot of people can overcome it's shortcomings, while others will lose interest half way through... But no matter how you look at it, it's worthy of your attention.

Tyler.