Barnes & Noble

Roundly panned by critics and slighted by moviegoers who paid too much attention to the negative buzz, this futuristic action thriller didn't really get a fair shake at the nation's box offices. Granted, The Island is a little slow to get going and unnecessarily confusing in spots, but it's hardly the unmitigated disaster its detractors claimed. Ewan McGregor stars as Lincoln Six-Echo, one of the innumerable residents housed in a hermitically sealed community during the mid-21st century. Like his neighbors and co-workers in this highly regulated society, Lincoln hopes to win the lottery that awards passage to a utopian island rumored to be the last uncontaminated spot on Earth. This ordered society holds a dark secret, however, and when Lincoln discovers this he stages an escape with fellow resident Jordan Two-Delta (Scarlett Johansson) -- and then the fun really begins. Pearl Harbor director Michael Bay, no stranger to overblown, noisy, and explosive action sequences, works his magic on the third act of this exposition-heavy yarn, which kicks into gear with McGregor and Johansson's elaborate escape. There's a mystery element to The Island that, while not terribly difficult to unravel, shifts the focus away from the seemingly allegorical import of the film's earlier section. It also heightens the suspense; once viewers know the secret of the island, they become more emotionally vested in the safety of Lincoln and Jordan. At times the whole thing seems pretty foolish, but that's where the skillful supporting turns of Steve Buscemi, Sean Bean, and Djimon Hounsou come in: their earnest performances in small but important roles lend much-needed credibility to the picture. The end result is an entertaining if minor action film with sci-fi trappings. Ed Hulse

All Movie Guide

Blockbuster action director Michael Bay delivers a striking look at a strange world of the future in this sci-fi action drama. Midway through the 21st century, Lincoln Six Echo (Ewan McGregor) lives in a confined indoor community after ongoing abuse of the Earth has rendered most of the planet uninhabitable. One of the only places in the outside world still capable of sustaining life is an idyllic island where citizens are chosen to live through a lottery. Or at least that's what Lincoln and his fellow citizens are taught to believe; the truth is that Lincoln, like everyone he knows, is actually a clone who is kept under wraps to provide needed organs when the person who supplied his or her DNA falls ill. When he becomes aware that his existence is a fraud, Lincoln escapes to the outside world with a fellow clone, Jordan Two Delta (Scarlett Johansson), though the powers that be are determined to see that no one gets away alive. The Island also stars Steve Buscemi, Djimon Hounsou, Michael Clarke Duncan, and Sean Bean. Mark Deming

Product Details

• UPC: 678149197020
• Source: DREAMWORKS VIDEO
• Region Code: 1
• Presentation: Wide Screen
• Sound: Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround
• Language: English
• Subtitles: English, Français, Español
• Time: 2:16:00
• Sales Rank: 4,438

This DVD is also available as part of a box set:

• Island / Minority Report
• Island / Minority Report

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