A Scientist at the Movies Reviews by Greg Paris

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Title: The Island

Date Viewed: 7/25/05

Details:

Ewan McGregor

Scarlett Johansson

Djimon Hounsou

Sean Bean

Steve Buscemi

Director: Michael Bay

Score: 1/2

The Review: Just slightly in the future, your insurance policy will take on a wholly different meaning, and while you might appreciate the difference, your policy will not.

Science-fiction, politically-aware, action thriller.

Kept reminding me of Logan's Run (1976), with Michael York's Logan Five counterpart to Ewan McGregor's Lincoln Six Echo, and Jenny Agutter's Jessica Six to Scarlett Johansson's Jordan Two Delta, with both pairs on the run. Although Sarah is more independent, self-aware, active and blonde, Jessica was by far the more alluring. Clearly, the plots are different (where the Run A.D. 2300 community is at least above ground, but catastrophic to anyone approaching 30 years of age), but the echoes are strong. And -- more's the pity -- no analog to Peter Ustinov's Old Man. There's no lack of philosophy and ethics in either movie, but where Run is a quiet & thoughtful Wells-like projection, Island is all atingle with action, motion, sound and SFX -- not necessarily in its favor.

Although inaudible or ignorable during most of the movie, the score became driving and attractively heroic in the last 10 minutes, very much in the mold of the rhythms for the score of Tears of the Sun -- and for good reason, since Hans Zimmer had a hand in this one too (cited in the theatrical trailer, even though he's uncredited on both the poster and the IMDB entry).

(30-Jul-05)

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