Wednesday, July 27, 2005
The Island: Movie Review
I'll start by getting the bullshit out of the way. Having been to Los Angeles and Detroit, under no circumstances does Detroit begin to resemble even a futuristic, beaten down LA. It also goes without saying that people in LA do not wear coats with any regularity. But I got to giggle seeing Detroit landmarks I easily recognized. It was nearly enough to let me forgive myself for not knowing that Ewan McGregor was so close to me during filming. The opportunity to knock on his hotel room door wearing nothing but a trench coat and heels has passed, however, so I must pick up the pieces of my shattered life and move on.
Ewan McGregor and Scarlett Johansson were great, as were the actors in smaller roles (hmm...Steve Buscemi, the African friend of Russell Crowe in Gladiator and a bunch of others whose names escape me).
The premise is that a medical company is breeding clones for the wealthy, to serve as either organ transplant parts or surrogate mothers. To keep the clones content and healthy, they are kept in an underground bunker where they are told that the rest of the world has suffered through some sort of contaminating holocaust. Each new clone to leave its pod for group acclimation is treated as a 'survivor' of said holocaust who was amazingly found and decontaminated. So the big trick of the company is getting clones to leave this happy place. This is done by instilling in them the idea that there is a contaminant-free island somewhere...a place where they can live in the open air. Expectant mothers go there automatically (under the pretense that they must raise their infants in fresh air). Others go there via a lottery system. Of course, the reality is that lottery winners are picked based upon the need for their organs. Ewan's character learns this early on when he sneaks out of the bunker and visits the hospital facility built over it.
The film tackles the basic moral ideas involved with creating and then killing clones without making it overly sappy. There's no long speech from characters debating the issue. The 'this shit ain't right' viewpoint is shown well enough through the well-done scenes of clones being killed once they've served their purpose. In a nutshell, there's a good story here.
What really give this film more universal appeal are the action sequences. Between my stepfather and brother, I've sat through everything from Rambo to The Fast and the Furious. I've seen plenty of fights and car chases. This film by far had some of the best action I've seen in years, from the simplest things to the most complex special effects. A dude might want to tinker with my list but I think the elements of a good action film are: something gross, a weapon, a ride, a fight, a chase and seeing things destroyed.
The something gross was the procedure done to test Ewan's health issues. It involved walking microbes dropped into his eye socket.
The weapon is a really simple device - a sort of grappling hook except that it's used on people. A gun-like instrument shoots out a hook that sinks into someone's flesh. The shooter then pulls on the cord and the victim's body is pulled back. It isn't said in the film but obviously this sort of retrieval weapon was used to cause minimal damage to the escaping clones (since their bodies need to be in proper condition for organ transplant). Definitely cringe-inducing.
The ride is a sort of motorcycle hovercraft. I can't remember the name of the similar rides used in Star Wars but picture them, then picture them going on the show Monster Garage. Got the idea? Now make the ride a two-seater - one seat for the driver and another seat that's more upright for the shooter. I'll call it a motocopter for lack of a better term.
There were loads of fight scenes in the film. The funniest was Ewan McGregor fighting with himself (clone vs. human) in a fast-driving Cadillac.
The catalyst for the film's action is Ewan's escape from the clone bunker. A unit of former Navy SEALS is hired to track him and Scarlett (whom he grabbed before she could be sent to the island). These guys track them in helicopters, on motocopters, in cars, even in a tank. This adds humor as well since the hunters get away with everything simply because they put LAPD labels on themselves. There are several chase scenes but my favorite was on the highway. Ever feared the chains holding a semi's haul would come loose? I know that other films have done this but none so well. Ewan rolled giant dumb-bell-looking hulks of metal off the end of a truck. The camera was right there. It looked as if these dumb-bells were coming directly at us in the audience.
The hunt for the clones was a national security issue so there was no regard for civilian casualties or property damage. Everything was done on a massive scale. Cars of every description were rammed through. Actors were placed in the middle of it every time. It was one of those movies where you can't help thinking, "They should have died at least half a dozen times by now." But the scenes are so good that you don't care. It's not irritating to see people drop 60+ stories off a building into a net so long as you see the building's logo sign topple down inches away from their dangling legs.
Damn it...I need to get to the bar. Just go see the damn movie. You'll like it.
Ewan McGregor and Scarlett Johansson were great, as were the actors in smaller roles (hmm...Steve Buscemi, the African friend of Russell Crowe in Gladiator and a bunch of others whose names escape me).
The premise is that a medical company is breeding clones for the wealthy, to serve as either organ transplant parts or surrogate mothers. To keep the clones content and healthy, they are kept in an underground bunker where they are told that the rest of the world has suffered through some sort of contaminating holocaust. Each new clone to leave its pod for group acclimation is treated as a 'survivor' of said holocaust who was amazingly found and decontaminated. So the big trick of the company is getting clones to leave this happy place. This is done by instilling in them the idea that there is a contaminant-free island somewhere...a place where they can live in the open air. Expectant mothers go there automatically (under the pretense that they must raise their infants in fresh air). Others go there via a lottery system. Of course, the reality is that lottery winners are picked based upon the need for their organs. Ewan's character learns this early on when he sneaks out of the bunker and visits the hospital facility built over it.
The film tackles the basic moral ideas involved with creating and then killing clones without making it overly sappy. There's no long speech from characters debating the issue. The 'this shit ain't right' viewpoint is shown well enough through the well-done scenes of clones being killed once they've served their purpose. In a nutshell, there's a good story here.
What really give this film more universal appeal are the action sequences. Between my stepfather and brother, I've sat through everything from Rambo to The Fast and the Furious. I've seen plenty of fights and car chases. This film by far had some of the best action I've seen in years, from the simplest things to the most complex special effects. A dude might want to tinker with my list but I think the elements of a good action film are: something gross, a weapon, a ride, a fight, a chase and seeing things destroyed.
The something gross was the procedure done to test Ewan's health issues. It involved walking microbes dropped into his eye socket.
The weapon is a really simple device - a sort of grappling hook except that it's used on people. A gun-like instrument shoots out a hook that sinks into someone's flesh. The shooter then pulls on the cord and the victim's body is pulled back. It isn't said in the film but obviously this sort of retrieval weapon was used to cause minimal damage to the escaping clones (since their bodies need to be in proper condition for organ transplant). Definitely cringe-inducing.
The ride is a sort of motorcycle hovercraft. I can't remember the name of the similar rides used in Star Wars but picture them, then picture them going on the show Monster Garage. Got the idea? Now make the ride a two-seater - one seat for the driver and another seat that's more upright for the shooter. I'll call it a motocopter for lack of a better term.
There were loads of fight scenes in the film. The funniest was Ewan McGregor fighting with himself (clone vs. human) in a fast-driving Cadillac.
The catalyst for the film's action is Ewan's escape from the clone bunker. A unit of former Navy SEALS is hired to track him and Scarlett (whom he grabbed before she could be sent to the island). These guys track them in helicopters, on motocopters, in cars, even in a tank. This adds humor as well since the hunters get away with everything simply because they put LAPD labels on themselves. There are several chase scenes but my favorite was on the highway. Ever feared the chains holding a semi's haul would come loose? I know that other films have done this but none so well. Ewan rolled giant dumb-bell-looking hulks of metal off the end of a truck. The camera was right there. It looked as if these dumb-bells were coming directly at us in the audience.
The hunt for the clones was a national security issue so there was no regard for civilian casualties or property damage. Everything was done on a massive scale. Cars of every description were rammed through. Actors were placed in the middle of it every time. It was one of those movies where you can't help thinking, "They should have died at least half a dozen times by now." But the scenes are so good that you don't care. It's not irritating to see people drop 60+ stories off a building into a net so long as you see the building's logo sign topple down inches away from their dangling legs.
Damn it...I need to get to the bar. Just go see the damn movie. You'll like it.
