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.
Set in a futuristic world where humans live in isolation and interact through surrogate robots, a cop is forced to leave his home for the first time in years in order to investigate the murders of others' surrogates.
In a future where people stop aging at 25, but are engineered to live only one more year, having the means to buy your way out of the situation is a shot at immortal youth. Here, Will Salas finds himself accused of murder and on the run with a hostage - a connection that becomes an important part of the way against the system.
A factory worker, Douglas Quaid, begins to suspect that he is a spy after visiting Recall - a company that provides its clients with implanted fake memories of a life they would like to have led - goes wrong and he finds himself on the run.
Director:
Len Wiseman
Stars:
Colin Farrell,
Bokeem Woodbine,
Bryan Cranston
A mild-mannered chemist and an ex-con must lead the counterstrike when a rogue group of military men, led by a renegade general, threaten a nerve gas attack from Alcatraz against San Francisco.
The son of a virtual world designer goes looking for his father and ends up inside the digital world that his father designed. He meets his father's corrupted creation and a unique ally who was born inside the digital world.
Director:
Joseph Kosinski
Stars:
Jeff Bridges,
Garrett Hedlund,
Olivia Wilde
What seemed like a breezy idea for an engineer to net him millions of dollars, leaves him on the run for his life and piecing together why he's being chased.
A tale of war and romance mixed in with history. The story follows two lifelong friends and a beautiful nurse who are caught up in the horror of an infamous Sunday morning in 1941.
Director:
Michael Bay
Stars:
Ben Affleck,
Kate Beckinsale,
Josh Hartnett
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.Written by
grantss
When Jordan discovers that Sarah Jordan is a famous model, the Calvin Klein spot and poster where Sarah appears are real "Eternity Moment from Calvin Klein" adverts starring Scarlett Johansson. Curiously, the reference to the perfume in the poster is removed and only the brand Calvin Klein is visible. Also some of the photographs at Tom Lincoln's house are real life photographs of Ewan McGregor. See more »
Goofs
(at around 2h 5 mins) As Lincoln is hanging from the large cable near the end of the movie, you can twice see the thin wire that is actually holding him up. See more »
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.
See more »
Michael Bay has had his directoral ups and downs, but here in the big budget action realm, the director of the excellent The Rock seems right at home. This time, Bay welds the action to a solid, if somewhat unoriginal sci fi plot - which blends elements of Logan's Run, THX-1138 and Gattaca.
Ewan McGregor and Scarlett Johanson are an attractive couple living in a completely medically regulated community designed to repopulate a world decimated by a mass extinction. Ethan Phillips, Djimon Hounsou and Sean Beam all provide excellent support. Beam is miraculously transformed into his clever, arrogant and suspect character. Phillips is also particularly memorable as their slightly unhinged pal.
Life in an enclosed, sterile environment, with all of their needs taken careof - including neatly arranged and identical uniforms, jobs, and three square can be a great bore, so - once a week or so - the sponsoring corporation gives away a one way ticket to the only place in the outside world which isn't lethal - The Island.
McGregor's Licoln Six Echo and a number of his cohorts are becoming increasingly agitated and curious about their home. All the while, his platonic relationship with Jordan Two Delta (Johanson) grows. But then, she wins her ticket to the island.
I have described the basic set up, and sci-fi fans will probably understand that this film actually sits among Logan's Run, gattaca, THX-1138 and other intelligent dystopian sci films. What may be a little harder to visualize is how stylistically indebted to Gattaca and THX-1138 this film is. Ewan McGregor doesn't really look like Ethan Hawke, and Scarlett Johanson is certainly not easily mistaken for Uma Thurmond, but between the cinematography, the themes, and the overall prettiness of the cast, the homage is obvious. The camera work is excellent, and the pace is spot-on, though it does become a little breathless toward the end.
Nevertheless, The Island stands on its own as a nice example of big budget sci fi which does not insult its audience's intelligence and uses its budget to tell an interesting story - not just to show off a lot of special effects and highly improbable action (though there is quite a lot of both here anyway). Recommended for serious and semi-serious sci fi fans.
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Michael Bay has had his directoral ups and downs, but here in the big budget action realm, the director of the excellent The Rock seems right at home. This time, Bay welds the action to a solid, if somewhat unoriginal sci fi plot - which blends elements of Logan's Run, THX-1138 and Gattaca.
Ewan McGregor and Scarlett Johanson are an attractive couple living in a completely medically regulated community designed to repopulate a world decimated by a mass extinction. Ethan Phillips, Djimon Hounsou and Sean Beam all provide excellent support. Beam is miraculously transformed into his clever, arrogant and suspect character. Phillips is also particularly memorable as their slightly unhinged pal.
Life in an enclosed, sterile environment, with all of their needs taken careof - including neatly arranged and identical uniforms, jobs, and three square can be a great bore, so - once a week or so - the sponsoring corporation gives away a one way ticket to the only place in the outside world which isn't lethal - The Island.
McGregor's Licoln Six Echo and a number of his cohorts are becoming increasingly agitated and curious about their home. All the while, his platonic relationship with Jordan Two Delta (Johanson) grows. But then, she wins her ticket to the island.
I have described the basic set up, and sci-fi fans will probably understand that this film actually sits among Logan's Run, gattaca, THX-1138 and other intelligent dystopian sci films. What may be a little harder to visualize is how stylistically indebted to Gattaca and THX-1138 this film is. Ewan McGregor doesn't really look like Ethan Hawke, and Scarlett Johanson is certainly not easily mistaken for Uma Thurmond, but between the cinematography, the themes, and the overall prettiness of the cast, the homage is obvious. The camera work is excellent, and the pace is spot-on, though it does become a little breathless toward the end.
Nevertheless, The Island stands on its own as a nice example of big budget sci fi which does not insult its audience's intelligence and uses its budget to tell an interesting story - not just to show off a lot of special effects and highly improbable action (though there is quite a lot of both here anyway). Recommended for serious and semi-serious sci fi fans.