The Island

[shipperx]

Went this afternoon to the Rave to see The Island. I enjoyed it. Very Logan's Run meets action movie. Fun in a summer movie "don't think about it TOO hard" kind of way. It was a fun movie but it definitely had some logic lapses. Poor Bean gets to play Dr. Mengele meets Hitler, and I don't think the character had any redeeming quality. If he was just supposed to be a God Complex doctor then he at least would have euthenized clones in a way that didn't appear so painful. And whenever head guy goes out to take care of things himself, you know ignominious death is soon to follow. Also, I kept feeling sorry for the helpless bystanders who were getting killed. I mean bunches of people had to have been killed in the good guys escapes, and then the man who hunted turns good in the end... but...oh, guess the ordered killing of some cops is okay then.

Which isn't to say these things make the movie less enjoyable. It's just what happens when you think about it much after you leave the theater. Ewan was in good wide eyed wonderment mode. Scarlett Johansen is extremely pretty. There was nice chemistry, and a nice little romance between the two. So for mindless summer fun movie, I give it a rec. I enjoyed it.

It isn't as noir as Gattaca but has touches of the same sort of ideas but it's more of an action movie than Gattaca or rather Gattaca meets Logan's Run meets ... I don't know. Something action. Anyway, enjoyable

Comments

[nutmeg3.livejournal.com]

I want to see this just because of the Bean, but I have no idea when I'll get to it. Maybe next Sunday, when I get back from my big conference in Reno. I don't expect it to be good (and I know Bean's whole arc), but so long as it keeps me entertained and the Bean looks good (which I know he does), I'll be content enough.

[shipperx.livejournal.com]

It's not deep think sci-fi, but it's not a bad movie. It's fun and delivers some good chase scenes, a nice little romance, and a happy ever after ending. So for summer fare, it's more than acceptable.

Bean does get some really nice black suits. :)

[thehepburn.livejournal.com]

Saw it too. Went because ewan draws me like a moth to a flame. You're totally right: the movie was enjoyable while watching but when you think about it afterwards. . . . ow!
They really pushed the parallels to LOGAN's RUN in the trailers but there were shades of THX-1138 and MINORITY REPORT also. I have heard also that THE ISLAND is a complete ripoff of a film called CLONUS or something like that which I have never heard of.

Did you see DOWN WITH LOVE? I thought ewan was channeling too much Catcher Block as Tom. Killer smile though.

[shipperx.livejournal.com]

Apparently "Clonus" is a movie that MST3K did a takeoff on. link: http://www.tvguide.com/Movies/FlickChick/

Question: The premise of The Island reminds me of a very bad and cheesy '70s movie that was used in an episode of MST3K. Am I right, and is it a remake of this horrible film? — Mark

FlickChick: The Island (2005) is not a remake of Parts: The Clonus Horror (1979), but it "borrows" shamelessly from this low-budget sci-fi film's premise: that a colony of healthy, pampered people living in a tightly supervised community because the rest of the world has supposedly undergone some calamity are actually clones bred to serve as spare parts for rich people. And yes, Clonus was lambasted on TV's Mystery Science Theater 3000. While I wouldn't go so far as to say Clonus is a good movie, I would argue that it deserves credit for dealing with issues that are even timelier now than they were 25 years ago, even if it owes its own debt of inspiration to Logan's Run (1976) and Coma (1978). The Island, which also lifts liberally from The 6th Day (2000) and Blade Runner (1982), and smothers the still viable questions about bioethics and the relative value of people's lives with ever-escalating, skull-rattling action sequences, looks about a million times better than Clonus, but doesn't add a single original idea.