The Island

A weaker 4 stars. Definitely not because Bay made a swashbuckling actioner out of stuff someone else would have made Blade Runner out of -). More because I kind of got lost in it at times, and if the camera had stayed still for a moment I wouldn't have minded at all. Otherwise, probably the most logical lapses I've seen recently. (01/10/2009)

I don't like Michael Bay, and after seeing The Island, not much has changed. I've always liked the Bad Boys films, but that's about it. The Island has an interesting idea and that's where it ends. Bay attempted to film something that could be called utopian sci-fi, where the primary focus would be on a socially critical dimension. It mainly works on the action level because that's what Bay enjoys. You can tell. The rest is just a big bubble to stretch the film to over two hours. A good idea chopped up into unbearable long boredom. (01/04/2014)

In terms of content (screenwriting), The Island is Michael Bay’s most riveting film yet. It’s serious subject matter (with several depressing scenes) is skilfully made into a brisk Hollywood blockbuster that fulfils all of the required parameters. The central duo of actors was a bad commercial (producer) decision, but it was a perfect dramaturgical (directorial) move. Their characters needed the greatest possible realism and they played the biggest character roles as they were being familiarised with the “new world”. My favourite passage of the film is the encounter with the children at the station... Ewan McGregor and Scarlett Johansson did not disappoint. The action scenes are peak Bay; the one with the “wasp” and its flight over a skyscraper is a real eye-candy highlight. The visual and musical concepts are kitschier than in Minority Report, for example, but still maintain a certain dignity, are believable and manage to captivate the viewer. And composer Steve Jablonsky steps out from under his own shadow. There are a few holes in the logic and the film has two endings, but it never becomes boring. I was glad it wasn’t ending yet and I could be kept in suspense for a while longer… This is the first Michael Bay movie that interested and entertained me with more than just nice visuals. The Island is a more interesting and daring sci-fi popcorn flick than last year's I, Robot. (24/09/2005)

When I thought, after the Bad Boys II, that Michael Bay had permanently drowned in his action-comedy affectations, I couldn't have been more wrong. Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman wrote him a script that suited him perfectly and although it's a timid prelude to Transformers, the futuristic romance is worth it. Ewan McGregor excels in a role that could finally elevate him to the absolute top class (but due to the mentioned box office failure, we didn't get to see it this time either), the rest of the actors support him at a distance, but skillfully. Perhaps it could have spent a little less time before the reveal, but the action in the second half lifts the film completely someplace else. (14/02/2006)

For someone who has seen Logan's Run, The Island is a completely pointless affair. Even though the story does go in a different direction in the second half and the whole thing seems to be just a bastardized take on Equilibrium. But I realize that it may not be that much of a big deal for fans of McGregor, Johansson, or Bay. (06/11/2011)