Summertime, and the livin' is . . . well, not as good as it was last summer, according to the big studios. With cries of a summer slump, movie-types are getting nervous, hoping that the next batch of films will serve up something that will attract audiences scared off by high ticket prices and skyrocketing fuel costs. The Island is the latest hope for an end to the 2005 blues, and with its mix of action, science fiction and ethics, it has the feel of a thinking person's popcorn flick. It may not single-handedly cure Hollywood's ills, but it’s definitely a movie that deserves an audience.
Ewan McGregor plays Lincoln Six Echo, a man who lives in a utopian society, created after the world became contaminated. Life seems to be perfect for everyone around him, yet when Lincoln starts to question his life and the role he plays in the world, he finds out that everything isn’t as it seems. He learns that instead of being protected from contamination, the people he knows are all clones, cloistered away from real society, grown for parts their "owners" may need in the future. The elaborate lie of "The Island" is a euphemism for taking a clone off for harvesting. When Lincoln finds out that his best friend, Jordan Two Delta (her gentle naivete played beautifully by Scarlett Johansson), is next on the list, he tries to escape with her to what he believes will be a better world. His creators, however, have other plans.
Sean Bean is Merrick, the doctor in charge of the center; a slick corporate godhead that seems like a natural progression of today's CEOs (or is it that that type of corporate leader is already here?) He’s still dead sexy, evil or no -- hey, you try to watch Lady Chatterly's Lover and come away unaffected. Djimon Hounsou plays the hired gun tasked to bring the two "products" back to the center by any means necessary. And Steve Buscemi steals every scene he's in as McCord, a supervisor who befriends Lincoln, giving him glimpses of the world outside, even if Lincoln doesn't quite know it at the time.
Ewan and Scarlett have an innocent chemistry between them befitting their character's lack of knowledge about sex and the center's laws forbidding personal contact. As they move around in their new world, scenes where they discover things like poisonous snakes and Jack Daniels come off as believable, not contrived. And when McCord tries to teach Jordan the concept of "mail order", it's a riot, because of her uncomprehending acceptance.
This film is an interesting meditation on what it takes to be human. How far will someone go in order to continue living? How far is acceptable, and what would it take to move you to action against something you considered wrong? Good questions in these times of cloning, gene mapping and new medical advances coming fast and furious every day. I found it disappointing, though, to think that in the not-too-distant future we could clone humans but still not make any strides in transplantation medicine. Suspension of disbelief is key; focus on the message, the acting and the action and you'll be fine.
Futuristic product placement throughout the film provides a certain coolness factor, and it's interesting to see what burger joint they think will make it, years from now. And goodness knows the film ain't hard to look at; with a cast list as pretty as this, you could pretty much watch this film even if the soundtrack was broken.
You could break this film down into little bits; a hint of Logan’s Run here, some Blade Runner there, A Clockwork Orange’s reprogramming system thrown in for good measure, I could go on. But with a killer screenplay and top-notch actors giving it their best, this film manages to rise above, making it more than just the sum of its parts.
Michael Bay (Armageddon) plays it best when things are moving fast or blowing up. Preferably moving fast and blowing up. He doesn’t fail to disappoint his fans in this film. The action sequences and stunts are big, fast and loud. But instead of overshadowing the film (as these type of sequences tend to do in most instances), they serve as an outline, mapping Lincoln and Jordan's quest for freedom. You know from the moment they try to make their escape that the road ahead will be a hard one. Just be prepared to check your disbelief at the door, and it’ll be worth it.
