In 2005, director Michael Bay first collaborated with executive producer Steven Spielberg on The Island.
This sci-fi action film stars Ewan McGregor and Scarlett Johansson as two people who uncover the unsettling truth about who and what they are.
The Island, which cost over $125 million to make, grossed an underwhelming $162.9 million at the worldwide box office, making it an official financial bomb.
But two decades later, it’s a hit on Netflix, consistently ranking in the top 10 most popular movies on the streamer.
Is it worth watching? Watch With Us breaks down whether The Island is worth a visit this December.
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Ewan McGregor and Scarlett Johansson Are Very Appealing
By the time The Island came out, McGregor had already starred in three Star Wars movies, while Johansson successfully transitioned from child roles to adult parts. Yet starring in an action flick was still uncharted territory for both of them, especially for a director like Bay who rarely finds many moments that let performers take a breath and inject some humanity to their roles.
The Island may not have time to fully develop its characters, but the natural charisma of McGregor and Johansson goes a long way towards getting the audience invested in the fates of Lincoln Six Echo and Jordan Two Delta. That’s quite a feat, and that ability has served them well in the films they made after this one.
Michael Clarke Duncan Has a Killer Cameo
The late Michael Clarke Duncan has what amounts to an extended cameo in The Island, but his brief scenes are some of the very best in the entire movie. When he’s introduced in the movie, Starkweather Two Delta (Duncan) thinks that he’s won the lottery to live on the Island, the last paradise on Earth. He’s so giddy and childlike that his happiness is almost infectious.
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Unfortunately for Starkweather, he finds out the hard way that he only exists to be harvested. In the clip above, Duncan’s performance is amazing as Starkweather pleads for his life. It’s a heartbreaking conclusion for the character, but it sets in motion the major storyline of the film.
It’s a Sci-fi Parable Mashed Together With an Action Flick
After witnessing the fate of Starkweather Two Delta, Lincoln Six Echo realizes that the promise of the Island is a lie. And he’s able to convince Jordan Two Delta to escape with him to discover the truth. As seen in the clip above, Steve Buscemi has a great turn as James “Mac” McCord, the guy who has to break it to them that they’re just clones of other people who were created for spare parts. The second half of the film is pretty action-oriented, which plays to Bay’s strength as a filmmaker.
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‘The Island’ Is ‘Bay-ham’ at Its Most Enjoyable
For better or worse, this is a Michael Bay film. And that means the director’s rapid cuts and occasionally disorienting action sequences are on full display once the movie kicks into gear. Looking back, some of these scenes seem like they were Bay’s audition to direct Transformers and its sequels. That’s not a bad thing, especially in a movie that’s tailor-made for insane, balls-to-the-wall action scenes like The Island.
While Bay definitely has his detractors, this film looks and sounds better than many of the made-for-Netflix movies that frequently top the streamer’s popularity charts. Maybe that’s why The Island is finally finding an audience two decades after its release — it offers viewers who missed it the first time a plentiful dose of provocative sci-fi themes and well-done action sequences. It’s not Hamlet, but it doesn’t pretend to be anything else than what it is — a silly popcorn movie that wants to get your adrenaline running.
The Island is streaming on Netflix.
