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Average User Score: 7 (162 sources)

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hechboy2

-1

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Pretty good.A little weird,but good.

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Posted sep 3, 2009 4:22 am pt

sheep233

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An intense movie that could have had more action but it was actually a pretty good film. It wasn't just an expensive action movie but also an intense sci-fi drama.

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Posted jul 26, 2009 8:15 am pt

LaidBack4Life

-1

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This movie shows how gruesome,cruel and totally disgusting humanity might and can become. I liked the effects and 3D models ;-)

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Posted sep 26, 2008 6:25 am pt

delta_116326

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Not Michael Bays Best, But an Original job and OK product.

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Posted may 31, 2008 8:03 am pt

Thorpe89

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The opening of The Island is powerful and pays tribute to the beauty of film-making. The overall look and background music (props to Steve Jablonsky) applied have been done near-perfect. It's a short but powerful introduction to the feature and...
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The opening of The Island is powerful and pays tribute to the beauty of film-making. The overall look and background music (props to Steve Jablonsky) applied have been done near-perfect. It's a short but powerful introduction to the feature and probably one of the most memorable scenes I have seen in a while.

At the first part of the movie, we learn about the lives of "clones." Clones are the "insurance plan" for people who can afford to have them. It's a good concept but not something unique. I have no problem with that and am always appreciating ideas being used if they are executed successfully. In this case, for the most part, it is.

The place where the clones reside is very high-tech and certainly seems to have a lot of security. Set design has been greatly done - you can see various equipment such as televisions, tubes, furniture that all match a futuristic theme. Every so often, there is the so-called "lottery." The clone that wins think he or she is going to "The Island." Although, he or she would be disappointed if they were to find out the reality of this scientific breakthrough.

This lottery is fixed and specific clones win it for a reason (if the clone's client has fallen ill and needs their limb). Later on, we find out more about some of the questions we have been wondering. We start to find out more on what the memory of the clones are like and such. Later, the movie changes drastically from sci-fi to action.

SPOILERS AHEAD...
Michael Bay is notable for including action scenes in his movies. The Island doesn't contain as many as some of his previous works but still some pretty impressive ones. The later half revolves around two clones who have escaped. We're pretty much focused outside of the sci-fi environments we were used to at the first part. Although, there are some various futuristic vehicles driving by.

One other thing to point out is the various product placement in The Island. We see far too many logos (particularly Calvin Klein, MSN and Xbox), which do kinda detract from the experience. They're not "just there" but at a few points, there is direct focus on the product placement.

The Island presents some interesting ideas. Maybe nothing too unique but certainly something to make The Island watchable. The two lead roles do great and indeed have a good bond. Length is suitable and probably The Island is one of my favourite movies of 2005. The cinematography, ideas and soundtrack are excellent. Certainly strong points to make me consider watching The Island again in the future.

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Posted apr 15, 2008 12:12 pm pt

HeavenNathious

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A pretty good movie that was somewhat interesting. It had some good sci-fi elements to it that worked. The dialogue and story were sort of cheesy, but the movie itself was decent enough.

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Posted feb 14, 2008 11:44 am pt

chocola18

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I can't find a word to critic this movie. Awesome from the beginning to the end. An edge-of-your-seat movie don't miss it.

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Posted nov 23, 2007 9:24 pm pt

Leu-kun

-1

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As a sci-fi movie is great, it never gets boring and the plot developts at the right speed, enough of everything...

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Posted sep 4, 2007 10:55 am pt

elise920

-1

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Oh yeah, very cheesy and commercial. The whole movie is a frigin' shameless product placement. I was still entertained though. Two sexy leads (Ewan McGregor is so drool-worthy), some nice action sequences, and a pretense to a story is all I needed...
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Oh yeah, very cheesy and commercial. The whole movie is a frigin' shameless product placement. I was still entertained though. Two sexy leads (Ewan McGregor is so drool-worthy), some nice action sequences, and a pretense to a story is all I needed to enjoy this brainless Hollywood product. Sure it's lame, but it's fun too. Definitely on my guilty pleasure list.

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Posted jul 22, 2007 2:27 am pt

Seraph67

-1

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There are always something to you can count on for a Michael Bay film: 1) Explosions 2) Hoaky Dialogue and 3) .... More explosions. A certain trend that Michael Bay nearly breaks in this film but then goes back to that. The beginning is a stylish...
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There are always something to you can count on for a Michael Bay film: 1) Explosions 2) Hoaky Dialogue and 3) .... More explosions. A certain trend that Michael Bay nearly breaks in this film but then goes back to that. The beginning is a stylish creepy science fiction story with many plot holes. But then the film ends up being a loud and violent chase film with explosion after explosion. The Island's biggest fault is the advertising. Giving away the movie's biggest twist in the trailer is not a good advertising method. The film is quite generic after a while that qith hoaky and campy dialogue and action scenes with nicer cars in them, not much evolution in Bay's action scenes. Finishing up, the acting ain't that special either. Anyway, The Island is just basically a mess and should be avoided unless you're a Michael Bay fanatic.

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Posted apr 2, 2007 9:26 am pt

• [+] Charlotte Observer
  
  75
  Bay's movie couldn't be more timely; whatever you think about this subject, you might admire his attempt to come to grips with it in a summer blockbuster.

  by Lawrence Toppman | Read Full Review »
• [+] New York Daily News
  
  75
  It's got a hot premise, some cool sets, attractive stars and action that lets up only when it thinks you're about to surrender.

  by Jack Mathews | Read Full Review »
• [+] Chicago Sun-Times
  
  75
  The Island runs 136 minutes, but that's not long for a double feature. The first half of Michael Bay's new film is a spare, creepy science fiction parable, and then it shifts into a high-tech action picture. Both halves work.

  by Roger Ebert | Read Full Review »
• [+] New York Post
  
  75
  Bay's best film since "The Rock."

  by Kyle Smith | Read Full Review »
• [+] San Francisco Chronicle
  
  75
  The movie is more about how many things Michael Bay can smash up -- lots. That might not be a talent most people respect, but it gets through to people anyway, and here Bay does it exceptionally well.

  by Mick LaSalle | Read Full Review »
• [+] The New York Times
  
  70
  Glossy, witty eye candy with some moderately chewy stuff in the middle. This lavish, exhaustingly kinetic film is smarter than you might expect, and at the same time dumber than it could be. It's an impressive product: a triumph of cloning that almost convinces you that it possesses a soul.

  by Dana Stevens | Read Full Review »
• [+] The Hollywood Reporter
  
  70
  Starts off an aggressively derivative sci-fi thriller, then morphs into an above-average chase melodrama.

  by Kirk Honeycutt | Read Full Review »
• [+] Seattle Post-Intelligencer
  
  67
  Make no mistake: This not high art. But it does its job without insulting our intelligence or unpleasantly jangling our nerves.

  by William Arnold | Read Full Review »
• [+] Portland Oregonian
  
  67
  The final third...is so overblown and anticlimactic that it finally gets you thinking about empty profundity and loose ends.

  by M. E. Russell | Read Full Review »
• [+] The Globe and Mail (Toronto)
  
  63
  As the careening cars go splat, splat, splat, the director's vision of the future looks like a cheerfully mindless combination of two extremes of carnival entertainment: demolition derby and whack-a-mole.

  by Liam Lacey | Read Full Review »
• [+] Premiere
  
  63
  Scarlett Johansson looks lovely and hasn't much to do besides that, McGregor only starts having fun when he's playing the "original" of his clone.

  by Glenn Kenny | Read Full Review »
• [+] Boston Globe
  
  63
  Bay's strength as a filmmaker, the reason his superficial yet entertaining productions can never be completely ignored, is that he appears to lack shame. He'll blow anything up and run anybody over. The moral complexities don't matter to him. He just wants to stage spectacles, appreciate very good-looking people, and assert his cowboy aesthetic.

  by Wesley Morris | Read Full Review »
• [+] ReelViews
  
  63
  There's enough fun to be had that it's almost possible to ignore the stupidity of the story and the cavity that replaces character development.

  by James Berardinelli | Read Full Review »
• [+] Village Voice
  
  60
  This is pure essence of Bay--it's big, it's loud, it has no context, and if you show up tanked, I'm sure it's really quite poetic.

  by Dennis Lim | Read Full Review »
• [+] Variety
  
  60
  Frenetic actioner about refugees from a genetic cloning plant starts off intriguingly, burns up its ideas in the first hour and pads out the rest with joltingly repetitive action sequences.

  by Justin Chang | Read Full Review »