THE ISLAND - PREVIEW 

The Island (2005)

Starring: Ewan McGregor, Scarlett Johansson
Director: Michael Bay
Rated: Unrated
U.S. Opening Date: July 22, 2005

A new Michael Bay movie! Uhm, yay! Praise the Lord and pass the Dramamine!

Returning to his action movie roots with this movie and Bad Boys II after flirting with expensive historical revisionist love stories (Pearl Harbor), the director who made us throw up in our pop corn with all his jerky camera movements and quick editing in Armageddon is back directing The Island.

It stars Ewan McGregor (will there be life after the Star Wars prequels?) and the yummy Scarlett Johansson who usually stars in more worthy fare such Girl with a Pearl Earring and Lost in Translation. Mmmm . . . probably following her agent’s advice and going for the big pay cheque.

Don’t expect this one to win any Academy prizes, but it will probably clear out the box office just like Bay’s previous flicks The Rock and Bad Boys did. (But those were with producer Don Simpson? Will there be life after Don Simpson?)

 

Plot description of The Island (2005):

Lincoln Six-Echo (McGregor) is a resident of a seemingly utopian but contained facility in the mid-21st century. Like all of the inhabitants of this carefully controlled environment, Lincoln hopes to be chosen to go to the “The Island” — reportedly the last uncontaminated spot on the planet. But Lincoln soon discovers that everything about his existence is a lie. He and all of the other inhabitants of the facility are actually human clones whose only purpose is to provide “spare parts” for their original human counterparts. Realizing it is only a matter of time before he is “harvested,” Lincoln makes a daring escape with a beautiful fellow resident named Jordan Two-Delta (Johansson). Relentlessly pursued by the forces of the sinister institute that once housed them, Lincoln and Jordan engage in a race for their lives to literally meet their makers.

— Some sources: Amazon.com, IMDb

Photo gallery:

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Trivia about The Island:

• This is the first Michael Bay film not produced by Jerry Bruckheimer.

• Rounding out the main cast of The Island are Oscar® nominee Djimon Hounsou (In America, Gladiator) as the head of the security team sent to hunt down Lincoln and Jordan; Steve Buscemi (Ghost World, Armageddon) as a man who befriends Lincoln despite working for the institute; and Oscar® nominee Michael Clarke Duncan (The Green Mile, Armageddon) as another resident who is unaware of his fate when he is selected to go to The Island.

• Michael Bay is directing The Island from a screenplay by Caspian Tredwell-Owen (Beyond Borders), and Alex Kurtzman-Counter (TV’s Alias) & Roberto Orci (TV’s Alias). Walter F. Parkes (The Ring, Gladiator), Michael Bay, Ian Bryce (Spider-Man, Saving Private Ryan) and Laurie MacDonald (The Ring, Men in Black) are producing. The Island is a co-production of DreamWorks Pictures and Warner Bros. Pictures, with DreamWorks distributing the film domestically and Warner Bros. handling the international release.

— Some sources: Amazon.com, IMDb

Trailers:

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