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Title: The Island (2005)
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| 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 | |
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
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.