The Island (2005)

Director:

Michael Bay

Writers (WGA):

Caspian Tredwell-Owen (screenplay) and
Alex Kurtzman (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

22 July 2005 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Tagline:

They don't want you to know what you are.

Plot:

A man goes on the run after he discovers that he is actually a "harvested being", and is being kept along with others in a utopian facility.

Plot Keywords:

Conspiracy | Future | Nail Gun | Warrior | Beautiful Woman

Awards:

3 nominations

Cast

Ewan McGregor	...	Lincoln 6 Echo / Tom Lincoln
Scarlett Johansson	...	Jordan 2 Delta / Sarah Jordan
Djimon Hounsou	...	Albert Laurent
Sean Bean	...	Dr. Merrick
Steve Buscemi	...	James McCord
Michael Clarke Duncan	...	Starkweather 2 Delta
Ethan Phillips	...	Jones 3 Echo
Brian Stepanek	...	Gandu 3 Echo
Noa Tishby	...	Community Announcer
Siobhan Flynn	...	Lima 1 Alpha
Troy Blendell	...	Laurent Team Member
Jamie McBride	...	Laurent Team Member
Kevin McCorkle	...	Laurent Team Member
Gary Nickens	...	Laurent Team Member
Kathleen Rose Perkins	...	Laurent Team Member

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of violence and action, some sexuality and language.

Runtime:

136 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Taiwan:PG-12 | Iceland:16 | Canada:14A (Alberta/British Columbia/Manitoba) | Canada:PG (Ontario) | Malaysia:18SG | USA:PG-13 (certificate #41894) | France:Unrated (with warning) | Switzerland:14 (canton of Zurich) | Australia:M | Singapore:PG | South Korea:12 | Hong Kong:IIA | Finland:K-15 | Philippines:PG-13 | Germany:16 | Canada:G (Quebec) | UK:12A | Ireland:12A | Norway:15 | Switzerland:14 (canton of Vaud) | Switzerland:14 (canton of Geneva) | Netherlands:12 | Sweden:11 | Denmark:11 | Brazil:14 | Argentina:16 | Peru:14 | Czech Republic:12

Filming Locations:

Ambassador Hotel - 3400 Wilshire Boulevard, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

DreamWorks SKG

Trivia:

Michael Bay drove behind a flatbed truck carrying train wheels on the highway leaving Palmdale, and, noticing how dangerous it looked, was inspired to create a destructive chase scene involving one.

Goofs:

Miscellaneous: The train wheels falling off the trailer fall and flip towards the pursuing police. In reality they would continue moving in the same direction as the semi and flip in the same direction.

Quotes:

[first lines]
God-Like Man: You're special. You have a very special purpose in life. You've been chosen. The Island awaits you.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The Dialogue: An Interview with Screenwriters Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci (2007) (V)

Soundtrack:

Blow

Good Action Thriller

I saw the movie at the Detroit red carpet premiere on Monday, July 18. In attendance were Michael Clarke Duncan and Djimon Hounsou.

The movie reminded me very much of Total Recall and The Matrix, not only with the plot line, but with its intensity. This was a very good summer action thriller. It was a little slow at first but once Ewan McGregor and Scarlett Johansson's characters discovered that they were clones, the action picked up immensely.

I was a little surprise about the lack of time Duncan was in the movie. Hounsou did a fabulous job as the hired gun. I am not a Ewan McGregor fan but I think he did a great job as Lincoln Six Echo and Tom Lincoln, especially when both Six Echo and Lincoln were in the same scenes together. Johansson looked good on the screen but her dialogue was limited.

Steve Buscemi did an funny job in his supporting role as McCord, the human buddy of Lincoln Six Echo. The scene when Johansson's character, Jordan Two Delta, and McCord go through McCord's closet to find some normal clothes for Johansson is a riot.

As parts of the movie was shot in Detroit (See when Ewan and Scarlett arrive in L.A.), I was looking for shots of the Motor City. In this sense, the movie did an excellent job making Detroit and "L.A." look really snazzy. However, in two shots of downtown "L.A.", you will see on the side of one of the buildings, a giant mural of Stevie Yzerman in his Red and White Red Wings jersey. I don't know if this was a goof, but it was interesting to think of why Yzerman would be on the side of a building in L.A. forty years hence.

Overall, I give it a seven. If you are a giant action and science fiction fan, you should not miss The Island.