Hey folks, Harry here... Well, seems we found the negative member of the audience with that first review of THE ISLAND. Seems everybody else is having a great time. Mr Beaks went to the screening last night and said the audience was electric, often applauding and giving the film a thunderous applause at the end. He agreed to hold his review, but intimated to me that he had a really good time with the film. Meanwhile, I've gotten a few more reviews. I put the SPOILER tag on this grouping, because the last review here does delve into spoiler territory, but the first two are spoiler free. The most positive review is the last one, but all 3 really did seem to enjoy the hell out of the film. Meanwhile, heard from Don Murphy that the "George Clooney as OPTIMUS PRIME" rumor that broke on some Canadian TV show is total bunk. He didn't say if Peter Cullen was going to reprise as the voice of Optimus Prime, but I've gotten about 35 letters today wanting me to start a movement to get Peter Cullen the theatrical gig. Personally, I just don't think it'd be TRANSFORMERS without Cullen, I'm sure I could adjust, but I'd rather have that iconic authoritative voice in place. Alright, we're here to talk THE ISLAND, so here we go...
Harry,
I also saw The Island last night.
May I suggest a spoiler warning on WillHunting's review of The Island. He gives away just about every plot point, and this is a movie that will be much less enjoyable if you know what's going to happen.
I offer this short, spoiler-free review:
There are two kinds of Michael Bay movies: crappy, low-budget horror movies that his production company puts out, and so-so big budget blockbusters. Some are fun, some are lame. I would say that The Island is one of the better Michal Bay movies.
The action is all shot in that overly-close-so-you-can't-quite-tell-what's-happenning style. Which is somewhat effective for getting the blood pumping, but also annoying. Too many directors use this cheat. That said, there is lots of action. After the inition set-up, it never lets up. And several sequences are very entertaining. Suspenseful? No. But fun.
I enjoy both Ewan McGregor and the beautiful Scarlett Johannsen, and they're both OK, not great. Obviously, these are talented people, so I have to lay the blame squarely on the director for a fairly cold film. The only actor with the chops to rise above is the great Steve Buscemi. Then again, I'd watch him standing in front of a white wall and just chatting.
Flying motorcycles. Whew! Made me want one.
The story is not all that original, but it's got some twists and turns. I will say that you will want to know as little as possible going in. I'm the kind of guy that can usually enjoy a movie even if I know a lot about it - hey, I come here to Aint it Cool News every day. But I strongly suggest knowing as little as possible going in.
Finally, this reminded me a lot of Logan's Run. I heard others in the audience say the same thing. And there's a nice homage (I hope it was on purpose) to that old sci-fi staple at the end.
So, there ya go. Good for a Michael Bay film.
Catch ya later,
Captain Friendly
The next spy, whom I call Eve Trowbridge also seemed to really enjoy the hell out of the flick, here's her non-spoiler review...
I had the opportunity to be among the first audience (at least, that’s what we were told) to watch “The Island” last night and I thought that your readers may be interested in hearing a NON-SPOILER review before the movie’s official release on July 22nd. I myself am a LONG time reader of Ain’t It Cool News, but first time contributor.
First off, let me say that I think Michael Bay is an extremely talented director and I would have never used the term “extremely” until last night. Unlike some, I enjoyed The Rock and Armageddon, but the style, story and performances of the “The Island” (pardon the forthcoming pun) blows them out of the water. I’m not saying that this movie is perfect, but as I watched the film, I was elated by its originality, style and ability to hit certain moments in the story that I was keeping my fingers crossed that they would hit. I’d have to estimate that 8 out of 10 moments were nailed. And no, this film is not a loosely based remake of “Logan’s Run” as I was lead to believe by the previews.
This film moves! …from the moment our hero (Ewan MacGregor) discovers the secret of his existence to (nearly) the very end. As for the rest, this is where the picture becomes less than perfect. I understand the difficulty of establishing a new world to an audience, and trying to simply explain the root of our visionary’s imagination without it appearing forced. “The Island” does succeed in its attempt to simply throw us into this new world as if it were just any other day. The problem I had is that our hero is in the middle of knowing that this world that he is trapped inside of is peculiar. We never get to see the transition from his acceptance to his speculation. Then, there’s the ending. This is where the focus of the film is lost. I felt like I was quickly being shoved to the end and only able to catch blurs of what could have been great. There was a psychological element to the ending that I did appreciate; however the action portion of the ending was uneventful. “The Island” hosts some of the most innovative and superlative action scenes I have seen on the big screen in a long time. There is even a freeway chase scene that rivals the freeway chase scene in Matrix Reloaded. By the time you reach the end of the movie, you’re asking yourself, “How are they going to top that?” Well, they don’t. It is my opinion that expanding on the psychology of their situation would have been a more proper and exhilarating finale… possibly even throwing in a twist or two.
In essence, “The Island” is a great film that had the opportunity to be exceptional, and I can’t wait to see it again in it’s completion. There are other aspects of “The Island” that are worth mentioning, such as the editing and performances, however the real star of the picture is the action. And I also have to say one last thing that I purposely didn’t expand on, and that is the scientific theme of this film. Although this is an entirely fictional piece, it did make me realize that this is the direction where science is headed, and that there are many possibilities in this film that we could be seeing in our near future.
Eve Trowbridge
And finally ya got a spoiler review that's fairly ecstatic by Count Zarloff, who seems dangerously close to being a Michael Bay stalker. Just kidding, I know how he feels. I've been a long time fan of Michael's work, and I get pissy when people write Bay off as just some sort of unentertaining hack. Michael may be many things, but unentertaining isn't one of them. Michael has made some of the most testosterone fueled visceral film experiences of the modern age, and I can't wait to see this chase sequence that apparently takes place somewhere in the middle of the film. It sounds jaw-dropping.
Hey guys,
Saw Michael Bay's new film, THE ISLAND, last night.
Here's two words I never thought I'd say in the same
breath: Michael Bay & thought-provoking. Now,
personally, I don't believe that every movie HAS to
stimulate thinking after you've seen it. That's a
novelty
that some great films have. It's also something that
a lot of people strive to inject into pictures that
don't need it. For instance, the pretentious move of
getting Ang Lee to direct THE HULK only resulted in
killing what could have been one of the biggest
franchises in town. Blockbusters are powered by
general audiences in the red states mainly comprised
of teenagers and young adults aged 13-30 who go to
the local multiplex on a week-end to be entertained.
Michael Bay has always made movies for these people.
I know a lot of people who frequent your site are not
his fans. Maybe they're just jealous because they
themselves are failed, or fledgling film-makers who
haven't had a taste of the success Michael has. Maybe
they can't stand the fact the he doesn't look like
Kevin Smith. Maybe they cringe at the kind of
partying he gets to do, the cars he drives, the women
he screws... I don't know what to tell you.
I am a Michael Bay fan. BAD BOYS, THE ROCK, and
ARMAGEDDON all kicked serious ass. But I guess when
you're a billion dollar director at the ripe old age
of 33, you start to crave more. You want to be taken
seriously by your peers. Spielberg just had SAVING
PRIVATE RYAN. Cameron just had TITANIC. So Disney
suggested to Michael Bay the possibility of doing a
love
story set against the back-drop of PEARL HARBOR.
There in lies the first problem that haunted that
film.
Spielberg wanted to tell a story about a group of men
risking their lives to save one (reversing the the
idea that the lives of the many outweigh the lives of
the few, or the one) set against the backdrop of
D-Day, where he really showed how war is hell. For
all it's B.O. success powered by it's romance, Cameron
was at first seduced by the true story of TITANIC
because of it's tragic irony with regard to pitting
man against the machine (a theme that his consistently
shown up in his work). PEARL HARBOR was
conceptualized to be a blockbuster, to be an awards
magnet, to be a classic. Ultimately, it is a good,
but not great film; a movie that I liked, but did not
love. It's a picture with flaws mired in it's own
ambition.
After that, Bay did perhaps the first, and only film
thus far in his career, that he was not passionate
about: BAD BOYS 2. Under pressure from Sony, Jerry
Bruckheimer, his agents, and a now super-star Will
Smith, he caved in. Not because a great draft for the
sequel had been turned in. But because there was
availability in both Smith and Lawrence's schedule to
reunite them. Because Sony needed another big gun for
their summer. And because Bay was convinced to do the
film to solidify a franchise for himself.
Now, some directors loose their passion when they're
making films that they're not into. Yan De Bont
worked his ass off on SPEED 2 and THE HAUNTING; they
both failed. When I saw Tomb Raider 2, there would be
no way to tell that it was helmed by the same man who
directed SPEED and TWISTER. But when Michael Bay's on
a set, he's incapable of just coasting. BAD BOYS 2
features some of the greatest action in any film I've
ever scene. The script may have been cut and pasted
together from umpteenth drafts from numerous writers
with varied takes. Had he made a great film, it
would've tripled the originals gross. Instead BAD
BOYS 2 just about more than doubled it. I heard
Bruckheimer wanted it to be shorter. I heard Will
Smith was taken back by how violent it was. In many
ways, the films run time, rating, budget, and script
is a big fuck you by Michael Bay to everyone who
pressured him into making it.
Meanwhile, he was off producing hit horror remakes of
films like TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACCRE and AMITYVILLE
HORROR
through his platinum dunes shingle, which has run
circles around Silver & Zemckis' Dark Castle and is
giving Sam Raimi's Ghost House a run for its money.
And somewhere along the way, Steven Spielberg read a
script that made him wish he hadn't done MINORITY
REPORT. So if he wasn't going to direct it, who would
he get to do it for him. M. Night Shyamalan can take
that issue of newsweek with him on the cover being
called the next Spielberg, roll it up, and shove it up
his ass. What's more, outside of a film he's
directed, Spielberg has never been more involved in
shepherding a project at Dreamworks than next year's
TRANSFORMERS. And now whose directing that? One
Michael Bay. Seems like someone has found his heir
apparent.
THE ISLAND will garner the best reviews, and most
critical acclaim, of any film Michael Bay has ever
made. It will convert detractors of his into fans.
It is a topical film; in a day and age where stem cell
research is a controversial issue it scrutinizes the
virtues of cloning and for-tells a dangerous morality
tale. People on both sides of the debate will be
able to point to this movie to try and make their
case.
In a summer full of remakes, updates of TV shows,
sequels, comic book adaptations, etc... THE ISLAND is
a piece of original material that will stand on its
own. It's not a brand-name pre-existing property
with a built-in fan base that will open to 100
million. Instead sci-fi fans, action aficionados
seeking a summer ride from the director of THE ROCK
and ARMAGEDDON, and people who find Scarlett Johannson
sexy and and are comfortable with Ewan McGregor from
TRAINSPOTTING, STAR WARS films, and MOULIN ROGUE
making a
star tun, will power THE ISLAND's opening week-end to
high 20s/low 30s. And then word-of-mouth will get it
easily over 100.
Never the less, we are in a world, where Peter Jackson
is doing KING KONG. Sam Raimi, SPIDER-MAN. Bryan
Singer, moving from X-MEN to SUPERMAN, Chris Nolan,
BATMAN. Even that hack Brett Ratner has tried to get
on everything from SUPERMAN to MISSION IMPOSSIBLE 3 to
the next X-MEN. But this is the film Michael Bay had
to make before he could do TRANSFORMERS. So that next
summer, before a room full of geeks at the San Diego
Comic Con, on a panel for TRANSFORMERS, he'll have
earned more than their respect, but their anticipation
for his movie. So that in every interview he does on
the press junket for THE ISLAND, he will recount the
story of how Spielberg approached him for the project
and now they're working on TRANSFORMERS together.
The film owes it's first act to sci-fi fare like
LOGANS RUN (and makes a remake of that film pointless)
and even Lucas' THX 1138. We're in a clean, spacious,
locked-down society that is based on control. Alleged
survivors of a world-wide contamination that has
rendered much of the earth uninhabitable must stay
healthy (eat right, exercise) while they await a
chance to win a lottery that admits them to go THE
ISLAND, the last haven left on the planet; their
providence.
But in reality, unbeknownst to them, they are in-fact
clones of the rich, famous, and powerful in the
outside world. To win the lottery means that your
counterpart needs something from you: your heart, your
liver, or some other organ. Ewan McGregor is Lincoln
Six, who yearns to know more about the outside world.
His curiosity gets the better of him, and he stumbles
on to the truth. But before escaping, he has to save
Scarlett's Jordan Two, who thinks she's going to THE
ISLAND, when in actuality, her counter-part on the
outside is in a coma after a car crash and needs
organs; hence she's won the "rigged" lottery.
But once the two escape, the rabbit hole goes deeper.
It seems people on the outside world who've had clones
made are simply told that their copies are in
vegetative
states. They don't know about this Utopian society
and the system of control otherwise known as the hope
of going to THE ISLAND. So now it's up to Lincoln and
Jordan to expose this conspiracy to the world and free
the others clones. But it won't be easy. Sean Bean's
character, a scientist with a god complex, who runs
the facility has hired former French Legionnaire
Dijimon
Hounsou and his team of mercenaries (military cut outs
recruited from Spec-Ops such as Navy Seals and Delta
Force) to contain the matter.
From here on, we're thrust into the most grounded,
realistic, vision of the future I've ever seen on
screen. And one that's chock-full of Michael Bay
action: Car chases, shoot-outs, and explosions.
There's a speeder bike chase better than the one in
RETURN OF THE JEDI set against a Phillip K. Dick like
setting. Lincoln confronts his counter-part in the
real world only to be betrayed by him and there's a
face-off between them that John Woo couldn't have done
better when he was at the top of his game. And don't
forget the comic relief provided by Steve Buscemi with
funny lines like, "You know when you want something
really bad and close your eyes at night and wish for
it -- God's the one who ignores you."
I don't want to give too much away. I wasn't going to
write a review. But I read one on AICN that was only
mildly positive (everyone is entitled to their
opinion)
but was also a blatant lie by an obvious film snob.
There was not a POLITE applause at the end of the
film. In fact, there was a rousing one. Actually,
throughout the film, people were clapping at key
scenes. The reviewer mentioned how he walked up
to Michael Bay to ask about TRANSFORMERS and also
brought up seeing Katzenberg, Parkes, etc... so
obviously we're dealing with a disgruntled fledgling
film-maker who talks the talk. The kind of jerk who
went to film school for four years and got brainwashed
by a bunch of professors who epitomize the saying that
those who can't, teach. The type of degenrates who
instruct
their students to revere Peter Biskinds "Easy Rider,
Raging Bulls"
like it's some kind of bible.
Anyway, just thought I'd drop you a line with my
thoughts. I'm sick of people taking shots at Bay.
Count Zaroff
