I cannot be understated how important it is to have a great cast when you’re making a film. You need actors who are on board with your vision as a director and you need them to perform at their peak so that you can get the maximum amount of emotion out of them.
This is highly important for your film due to the fact that your characters will be expressive people, and if they’re not expressive people then it’s even harder to portray the introverts. Unfortunately, even with a good cast, sometimes some films just don’t work out, The Island is one of them.
How to Stream or Download The Island (2005)
You can stream it or you can download the film from a digital store. Click on the Download button at the end of this review and make your choice. if you like Scarlett Johansson, check out also his other films, for example – Black Widow (2021), Lucy (2014), and Lost in Translation (2003).
The Movie Review
Freshly off of the Star Wars fame, Ewan McGregor decided to make another science fiction film. This time around though, the story is set in an isolated world, devoid of any people, society’s rules and structures, and any semblance of safety.
The only place that is safe on earth is known as The Island. The Island is the last safe haven on earth, but most of the world’s people go to for sanctuary. The protagonist, Lincoln Six-Echo wishes desperately wants to find his way to the Island. However, upon reaching the so-called last safe haven of humanity, Lincoln realizes that nothing is as simple or black and white as it seems.
It’s a bit hard to explain how confusing and conflicted this film is. Mainly due to the fact that it’s directed by Michael Bay, and relies a bit more on dialogue-heavy sequences rather than big-budget explosions.
Characters
The characters are constantly contradicting each other, their actions don’t really make sense for how they’re developed as people, and their motivations are lacking in motifs other than the fact that they want to remain powerful. Well, that may be one of the better motivations by itself, in an isolated world, you can show a lot more depth to your characters than there is present here.
There is also an ever-present love arc here in this film, which is a bit confusing because it doesn’t really serve much of a purpose in the film. It does take up a chunk of it though, and Scarlett Johansson is fantastic in the role of the mysterious Jordan Two-Delta.
I say mysterious because she’s the only character with a little bit of history to her, whereas the rest are just there to get bullied on-screen or become bullies. Though the biggest issue of all in this film for me was the editing. The film felt like it was edited by 10 different people, most of the sequences didn’t make sense when combined together and a lot of the coherence in the film felt missing.
The one thing I cannot fault this film for is the performances though, every single one of them is fantastic. Ewan McGregor in particular as the lead Tom Lincoln is genuinely great in this movie, and Scarlett Johansson is one of the very best in the entire film.
The two that I found most engaging and exciting to watch on screen though, are Michael Clarke Duncan and Sean Bean. The two actors are absolutely fantastic in the film, portraying some of the more depth full characters who are wronged heavily by this script.
Visuals
Visually speaking though, there are a few issues here. I dislike the setting overall, it feels too plasticky and it doesn’t look great with the 2005 CGI. The visual effects in the film are decent to great, Michael Bay never makes mistakes in that particular aspect of his filmmaking. The film was somewhat weird-looking, the color grading was awful and the camera angles were uninspired.
Music
The original soundtrack by Steve Jablonsky is actually great, it adds a lot to the film and it makes the aesthetic feel that much more elevated. The tunes are quite great, they feel very sci-fi and their implications for the film’s plot are high.
The Bottom Line
In conclusion, the film’s aesthetic might not be pleasing, nor might the story be of any uniqueness. It is still an entertaining film to watch when it comes to visual effects on screen, and the fantastic performances by every single member of the cast.
The production design of this film definitely saw a lot of work going into it, so just for that alone, it should be a worthy watch. Though aside from that, if you’re looking for a meaningful experience, The Island is definitely not it.
