The Island | 
| Director: Michael Bay
Actors: Scarlett Johansson, Ewan Mcgregor, Djimon Hounsou, Steve Buscemi, Sean Bean
Studio: Dreamworks Video
Category: DVD
List Price: $12.98
Buy Used: $0.85
You Save: $12.13 (93%)
New (63) Used (184) Collectible (1) from $0.85
Rating:  331 reviews
Sales Rank: 1977
Format: Ac-3, Color, Dolby, Dvd, Subtitled, Widescreen, Ntsc
Languages: English (Original Language), English (Subtitled), Spanish (Subtitled), French (Subtitled)
Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Region: 1
Aspect Ratio: 2.40:1
Number Of Discs: 1
Running Time: 136 Minutes
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.3
Dimensions (in): 7.3 x 5.3 x 0.6
MPN: DRWD91970D
UPC: 678149197020
EAN: 0678149197020
ASIN: B000BO0LH2
Theatrical Release Date: July 22, 2005
Release Date: December 13, 2005
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
LINCOLN SIX-ECHO IS A RESIDENT OF A SEEMINGLY UTOPIAN BUT CONTAINED FACILITY IN THE MID-21ST CENTURY. LINCOLN SOON DISCOVERS THAT HIS EXISTENCE IS A LIE. HE MAKES A DARING ESCAPE WITH FELLOW RESIDENT JORDAN TWO-DELTA & THEY ENGAGE IN A RACE FOR THEIR LIVES.
Amazon.com
When you add up all the best things about The Island, you might just conclude that there's hope yet for Hollywood's most critically reviled hit-maker, Michael Bay. Recruited by Steven Spielberg to direct this lavish and often breathtaking sci-fi action thriller, Bay rises to the occasion with an ambitious production that is, by his standards (and compared to Bay's earlier hits like The Rock and Armageddon), surprisingly intelligent as it explores the repercussions of cloning in a sealed-off society where humans are cultivated for spare parts, surrogate parenthood, and full-body replacements for wealthy clientele. But when two of the clones (Ewan McGregor, Scarlett Johanssen) begin to question their fate and the motives of their keepers, they escape into the real world and The Island becomes just another Michael Bay action extravaganza, albeit an impressively exciting one. With elaborate chase scenes and a high-tech feast of CGI to dazzle the eye, The Island recycles much of the plot from 1979's Clonus while borrowing elements from Logan's Run, Gattaca and Minority Report, and while it's not as smartly conceived as those earlier films, there's no denying that, in many ways, it's Bay's best film to date. --Jeff Shannon
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| Customer Reviews: Read 326 more reviews...
 The Island June 30, 2009
Bee Keeper
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Through two clones, Lincoln and Jordan, *The Island* touches on current issues about humanity, what it means to be human, the role of science. What I love most about this film is the the sometimes subtle but often unsubtle allusions and symbols with corresponding music to get the point across. References to Nazi Germany, "The Lottery" by Shirley Jackson, *Fahrenheit 451* (loosely), and slave-owner imagery make this powerful and emotive. Even without a sound understanding of how these elements play out, the movie works on its own merits with dynamic, real characters (except for one or two), fast-moving plot, and satisfying ending.
A Well Done Action Movie with a Real Plot and Relevancy June 16, 2009
C. Lambeth (Portland, Oregon)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I appreciated The Island in almost every respect. There was one scene in particular that was truly unsettling (the pregnant-mother scene), and if I had kids, I would have asked them to leave the room or fast forwarded through it. But that is because I am very sensitive to evil, even Hollywood evil. Be that as it may, this is a well-done action movie from the story-line to the acting and the special effects. It was a hoot, and I'm not usually impressed by action movies.
-Below this sentence is a plot-killer, so read no further if you don't want me to ruin the movie for you.-
What really sold me on The Island was its brilliant handling of a theme first found in Plato's Republic. For in that ancient discourse, Plato's character, Socrates, engages in protracted dialectic debates upon what justice is and what a "just" society looks like. To make a point, Socrates asks his interlocutor, Glaucon, why the same animal husbandry that yeomen practice with their livestock should not be applied to the Greek citizenry as well. And while I believe Plato used the example as a negative one (what ought not be done) in that one instant, what would later come to be called Social Darwinism, or eugenics in even darker parts of human history, was born. This is the theme of breeding only the "best" human "specimens" and eliminating the "useless" ones all in the name of "progress" for the fittest, strongest and best (or wealthiest, in the case of The Island). Of course who defines "best, useless" and "progress" is left conveniently unexplained by any of the theories, but it is a foregone conclusion for those who hold the power.
In terms of The Island, the movie offers an scintillating hypothesis of what the not-too-distant future might look like if Plato's theme resurfaces yet again and proceeds unfettered by true morality. I pray that it will remain an implausible sci-fi Hollywood creation. In the meantime, the movie sure was fun to watch.
Thanks for reading me,
-C. Lambeth
Stylish Visuals, Great Stuntwork Lead Way May 23, 2009
Craig Connell (Lockport, NY USA)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
Scientists creating "clones" are the villains in this movie. The clones' purpose is to provide their human counterparts replacements for defective body parts. (Boy, I could use a few!)
The only problem is that one of the clones (Ewan McGregor) starts to become human with feelings and emotions all his own. He is then joined by a female clone (Scarlett Johansson) and the two them try to escape their surroundings - a prison-like laboratory in the middle of the desert.
The last half of the film is them on the run, trying to tell someone the truth.
This turned out to be an Arnold Schwarzenegger-type action movie, which isn't all bad because Arnold's films were at least entertaining. It features the same stuff: outrageous scenes in which incredible things happen to the heroes....like assassins shooting at them from 30 feet away and never hitting them or falling from tall buildings....and never getting hurt! These two leads have nothing on Superman! They are indestructible, apparently. It's lunacy....but it certainly has it's fun moments with some tremendous stunt work.
To me, the best aspect of this film was the stylish camera-work. There are some really, really nice visuals in this presentation, and good sound. A good Blu-Ray disc of this movie would look and sound awesome. I see one is out, but it's unavailable for sale. I wonder what's up with that?
 Is too much action possible? May 19, 2009
Bradley F. Smith (Miami Beach, FL)
This thing is very noisy and the action, after a slow opening, is almost non-stop car chases, crashes, explosions, building collapses etc etc. After awhile, it all begins to look the same. And sound the same. Also, at 2 hours and 10 minutes, this is about 40 minutes too long to tell its story, which is rather simple. There is nothing to justify the length, other than, perhaps, the director's reluctance to leave yet more noise on the cutting room floor. At least ScarJo is something to look at. But why is Djimon Hounsou always dripping, just dripping, with sweat dripping offf his bald head, while no one else is? Hmm?
It is Amazing April 7, 2009
PS3 Fanatic
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
This in my top ten movie list of all time. Love the story and the action was awesome. The only negative is that it is very long but as long as the movie works than yes, I'd definitely recommend this to any sci-fi action fan.
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