The Island

When I thought, after the second Miserables, that Michael had permanently drowned in his action-comedy mannerisms, I couldn't have been more wrong. Orci and Kurtzman wrote him a script that suited him perfectly and although it's a timid prequel compared to Transformers, the futuristic romance is worth it. Ewan McGregor excels in a role that could finally elevate him to the absolute top class (but due to the mentioned box office failures, we didn't get to see it this time either), the rest of the actors support him at a distance, but skillfully. Perhaps it could have spent a little less time before burning the point, but the action in the second half lifts the film completely somewhere else. (15/02/2006)

The first film of the repulsive megalomaniac after The Rock, which I again enjoyed with all the icing on the cake. I really don't know why I would want to talk about a more serious idea in the case of The Island, which may be interesting at the embryonic stage, but fortunately Bay is obviously afraid of deeper topics - he reduces the island's ant base into crumbly but tolerable dialogues, and after a while the whole plot is reduced to "from whom it is necessary to escape / who needs to be defeated and what needs to be destroyed". No loops, but on the contrary great action fire from all cannons, fast editing, excellent background music, breathtaking effects (especially the scene with train wheels is breathtaking). The island is dominated by a clinically pure image style, a crystal clear and uncomplicated futuristic aesthetic that is as clear and legible as the story of the film. It slides down the neck and does not burden the stomach. I do not mean that in a bad way. Michael Bay is good at all the cliché slow motion, camera flights, etc., and he can do them cleanly and precisely like few others, and The Island operates with the expression of an action film with absolute bravura. The result is two hours, my brain was sweetly turned off and I rode only on a wave of adrenaline, which is not muffled by anything. A great relaxation experience - I of course understand that whoever was waiting for intelligent sci-fi must have been disappointed. But wanting it from Michael is like wanting a circumcision at St. Vitus. Have I ever written that Scarlett Johansson is absolutely GORGEOUS??? (11/01/2007)

For someone who has seen Logan's Run, The Island is a completely pointless affair. Even though the story does go in a different direction in the second half and the whole thing seems to be just a bastardized take on Equilibrium. But I realize that it may not be that much of a big deal for fans of McGregor, Johansson, or Bay. (07/11/2011)

Gorgeous Bruckheimer-style camera filters, swooping shots, and overhead views – basically everything that Michael Bay can offer us. The Island is visually stunning, full of gloss, light, and thrilling action. At the same time, it is philosophically and narratively the most sophisticated film by this creator. (03/09/2005)

A weaker 4 stars. Definitely not because Bay made a swashbuckling actioner out of stuff someone else would have made Blade Runner out of -). More because I kind of got lost in it at times, and if the camera had stayed still for a moment I wouldn't have minded at all. Otherwise, probably the most logical lapses I've seen recently. (01/10/2009)