Susan Granger’s review of “The Island” (DreamWorks)
As a critic, I feel it’s imperative to evaluate a movie by comparing the results to what the film-maker set out to do. An action/thriller should, for example, be thrilling and filled with action. That’s just what director Michael Bay delivers here – with an added fillip of provocative premise. Set in the not-too-distant future of July, 2019, the story begins in a self-contained bio-tech community where “agnates,” or clones, are harvested to provide spare parts for their elite human “sponsors.” Chemically balanced to insure good health, minus a sex drive, they’re implanted with memory chips, programmed and minimally educated to keep them polite, pleasant and peaceful as they await a lottery win to go to “The Island,” where they think they’ll live happily ever after. Except Lincoln Six-Echo (Ewan McGregor), a clone who’s curious about his environment, much to the consternation of the center’s unethical mastermind (Sean Bean). When Lincoln sneaks into the medical facility and, inadvertently, discovers the truth, he grabs his friend, Jordan Two-Delta (Scarlett Johansson), and escapes into the Arizona desert. With the humorous help of a facility worker (Steve Buscemi), they head to Los Angeles where both of their sponsors live. Following them in hot pursuit is a zealous Special Forces-trained mercenary (Djimon Hounsou). Working from a script by Caspian Tredwell-Owen, Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci that evokes themes from “Logan’s Run” and “Minority Report,” among others, Michael Bay (“Pearl Harbor,” “Armageddon”) delivers cool stunts, chaotic car chases and noisy explosions, while the credible A-list actors elevate the derivative melodrama. On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, “The Island” kicks in with a high-octane 8 while ominously reflecting on genetic cloning.
