The Island (2005)

A man living in a futuristic sterile colony begins to question his circumscribed existence when his friend is chosen to go to the Island, the last uncontaminated place on earth.

Director:

Michael Bay

Writers:

Caspian Tredwell-Owen (screenplay), Alex Kurtzman (screenplay)

Stars:

Scarlett Johansson, Ewan McGregor, Djimon Hounsou

1 win & 6 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Ewan McGregor	...	Lincoln Six Echo / Tom Lincoln
Scarlett Johansson	...	Jordan Two Delta / Sarah Jordan
Djimon Hounsou	...	Albert Laurent
Sean Bean	...	Dr. Bernard Merrick
Steve Buscemi	...	James McCord
Michael Clarke Duncan	...	Starkweather Two Delta / Jamal Starkweather
Ethan Phillips	...	Jones Three Echo
Brian Stepanek	...	Gandu Three Echo
Noa Tishby	...	Community Announcer
Siobhan Flynn	...	Lima One 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

Storyline

Set in a dystopian future, a group of people work in a facility, essentially as slaves. They do have an incentive though - a regular lottery is held and one of them gets to leave the facility and its restrictions and move to The Island, a paradise. Lincoln Six Echo is one of the workers in the facility and he is infatuated with Jordan Two Delta. His life is fairly uneventful and mundane until Jordan Two Delta gets selected to go to The Island. Then Lincoln starts to discover the truth about the facility and The Island.

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Plot Keywords:

year 2019 | island | clone | same actor playing two characters simultaneously on screen | actress playing dual role | 

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Taglines:

Your time will come...

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Genres:

Action | Sci-Fi | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

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

Did You Know?

Trivia

Michael Bay stated: "The Island opened to the lowest opening in my career. All my movies have been smash hits. They all made a fortune at the box-office for what they cost, and The Island did a pitiful $35 million." He says there were numerous reasons for that. "One, a very big summer. Two, The Island, just the title itself, it's a very complicated title, it's something that's very hard to market because instantly you're thinking of something it is not." The marketing ended up being the biggest failure in his view, and while Warner Bros. did very well with it internationally the domestic advertising never nailed down a tone. "We should have sold it more as an action movie," he says, adding that they instead tried going a more intellectual route. He takes partial blame as he did like some of the ads, but he says Dreamworks ignored his repeated suggestions that they use WB's campaign from overseas. He polled 500 people just a few weeks after the film opened, and roughly 450 of them didn't even know the movie had been released. "The ball was dropped, big time."

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Goofs

At the end of the freeway chase, when Laurent steps out of the passenger side of his car, a camera and several crew members are reflected in the car's door approaching the vehicle.

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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.

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Connections

Featured in Nova ScienceNow: Can We Live Forever? (2011)

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Soundtracks

Charmaine
Written by Lew Pollack & Erno Rapee
Performed by The Mantovani Orchestra
Arranged by Ronald Binge (uncredited)
Courtesy of Delta Entertainment and San Juan Music Group
By Arrangement with Source/Q

User Reviews

A fun ride....

I liked "The Island" quite a bit due for two reasons: a depiction of the future which wasn't too "over the top", which was refreshing, coming from Bay, and that the leads were very effective at portraying their characters. McGregor, from his acting, and Johansson, from her open, fresh expression. There could have been a little more exploration of the cloning question, and I felt the action was, while visually beautiful, mundane. The score was outstanding, the theme beautifully matching the opening to the film. Pity there wasn't more of it. Sean Bean, to those used to his villainous work in "Patriot Games", and "Goldeneye", was a little weak, but due to writing, not his thespian skills. And what's a Micheal Bay or Cohen Brothers movie without Steve Buscemi? His character was relatively weak, with no real motivation behind his actions in the film. Djimon Hounsou has a pretty good part. Nice to see him carry a substantial role. One good reason to see the film: great visuals, good looking people with consistent positive ideals. Pretty to watch.

Details

Official Sites:

Warner Bros [France]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

22 July 2005 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Island

Filming Locations:

Cook Bank Building, Rhyolite, Nevada, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$126,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$12,409,070, 24 July 2005

Gross USA:

$35,818,913

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$162,949,164

Company Credits

Production Co:

Dreamworks Pictures, Warner Bros., Parkes/MacDonald Image Nation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

136 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1