The Island Review

Alright...Michael Bay may be known for directing mindless movies with random explosions, but I think Bay's The Island is actually a good movie. Sure the movie still has a lot of explosions but there is a good story and good message at the heart of the movie. NOTE: A part of my plot description and thoughts of the film contain some minor spoilers. I say minor spoilers because they are revealed in the first 3rd of the film so I don't spoil the ending.

The Island's plot revolves around Lincoln Six Echo (played by Ewan Mcgregor) who lives within a strict, underground, and strict society, controlled by Dr. Bernard Merrick (played by Sean Bean), that is supposedly keeping everyone safe from a deadly airborne disease. Everyone in the society have certain diets, they can't be romantically involved with the opposite sex, and they have daily jobs that involve some kind of chemicals. There are some benefits however, such as a daily lottery in which one person gets to permanently stay at "The Island" which is supposed to be a wonderful place. But when Six Echo's best friend, Jordan Two Delta (played by Scarlett Johansson), wins the lottery Six Echo realizes "The Island" isn't exactly paradise. MINOR SPOILERS!!!It turns out that everyone living in the underground society are actually clones of people that live in the real world. When somebody wins the lottery, they are actually taken to labs so doctors can kill and use the cloned organs for the real people. After this realization, Six Echo and Two Delta take it upon themselves to escape from the underground society and Dr. Merrick's bounty hunters.

MINOR SPOILERS!!!What I found most intriguing about this movie was the pro-life message.Should we be allowed to create other human beings? This film suggests that cloning humans is immoral. If modern scientists successively cloned a human being, would they treat it as such? Or would they treat the clone simply as another experiment? I also viewed this issue in terms of abortion. I know abortion is a very problematic topic, but I am personally against it, as is The Island apparently. Is it truly right for us to create life and then take it away on the spot? Should we really kill another soul in order to keep our lives intact? I just really appreciated how this movie suggested how cloning (and possibly implying abortion?) is wrong. Any human being we create as a soul, and that soul should be respected. By the way, if anyone in this class is pro-abortion I mean NO offense to you, these comments are just MY opinions.

I felt the film's plot was very interesting, different, and it continued to throw something new at you. The science fiction element was pretty cool and it wasn't overdone. I thought one the coolest science fiction element was the motorcycle that could fly! The action scenes were impressive (something Michael Bay always gets right in my opinion), especially the highway chase scene. The film has a lot of bright lighting. It's almost as if 75% of the movie was filmed during sunrise or sunset with the lighting that they used. Ewan Mcgregor and Scarlett Johansson's performances were good enough but they weren't outstanding. I blogged briefly about it before but the music in the film is wonderful, especially in the final scenes of the film.

I applaud Michael Bay for this film. Although it has his typical, over the top explosions, Bay seemed to focus more on the story for once in his life. This is Bay's best movie in my opinion. It's a shame that The Island didn't get the attention that it deserved.