THE ISLAND

Ewan McGregor and Scarlett Johannsson discover that they’re not quite themselves in the futuristic action-adventure THE ISLAND. McGregor is Lincoln Six Echo, and Johannsson is Jordan Two Delta, each a clone developed by a black-market corporation// The corporation exists thanks to anonymous investors, who pay millions of dollars to ensure their quality of life through the clones. Eventually Lincoln and Jordan discover their destiny, but aren’t waiting around for it. They break out of the corporation’s secluded institute, and find themselves on the run from their creators.

Filled with an ingenious set-up, two talented and attractive stars and a handful of skilled character actors, THE ISLAND had all the makings of an exciting, and well thought out science-fiction, action picture. It must have been Michael Bay who got in the way. The ARMAGEDDEON and BAD BOYS director brings his same maniac editing and machismo to THE ISLAND, but it seems out-of-place in a film whose ambition seems left in the film’s first two reels. The set-up is intriguing promising more than it delivers, as we’re allured into the utopian society that Lincoln and Jordan inhabit. Everything in their daily routine has a purpose, and it’s interesting to see how they benefit from their itinerary. But when the storyline takes the clones out of their confines, the film turns from a science fiction critique to an average action picture. It’s suddenly a series of chases, with Lincoln and Jordan attempting to avert extinction by way of the institute’s hired henchman. These scenes don’t elicit much excitement, with Bay replaying action scenes from his previous works. THE ISLAND is a great concept that concedes and becomes an ordinary summer blockbuster.

Grade: C+