Film Review: the Island
Thursday, May 27, 2010 4:45
Film Review: the Island
If there is one thing that you can say for director Michael Bay its that he knows how to blow things up. Lets forget for a second that he hasn’t made a competent film since his debut film Bad Boys (1995). Since then he’s made over amped up excesses in filmmaking from The Rock (1996) to Pearl Harbor (2001) to Bad Boys II (2003). In The Island it actually fits the story and even though it goes a little over board in the third act, Bay’s excesses fit the story perfectly. I won’t bore you with the details of plot other than that it’s Logan’s Run for the modern day.
What is important to note is that the overlong chase sequences and overblown explosions fit the immediacy of the film about two people being chased throughout the city. Screenwriters Caspian Tredwell-Owen, Alex Kutzman, and Robert Orci do a good job with balancing the action with the requirements of the story and there are even a few very suspenseful sequences that don’t seem forced in the story (as Bad Boys II and 1998’s Armageddon feel). Ewan McGregor and Scarlett Johansson are perfect together and there is even some inspiring casting in Sean Bean as the villain of the film who means well but must learn that the means to not justify the ends. Although Djimon Hounsou, Steve Buscemi, and Michael Clarke Duncan are welcomed supporting cast, there contributions are few and far in between.
I’m not a fan of Bay’s but I do believe his excesses as a filmmaker actually contribute to this film more so than most of his other films and I believe that this film is actually coherent in regards to his other films.
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