Cinema: The Island (2005)
I just saw The Island (Michael Bay). We chose this one because we had AMC passes and it was one of the only ones that didn’t have a “No Passes” restriction. Anyway, I thought it kinda sucked. The acting was uninspired and although the special effects and other visuals were pretty cool, they weren’t enough to make the film. Sometimes I found myself thinking, “That shot looks nice,” but Bay never holds his shots long enough to actually get a good look at them. Perhaps that is because he’s afraid that you may start to think about what you’re watching, and realize that it is garbage.
It felt like a bad, bland and boring TV-movie, and there was so much product placement that there may as well have been commercials. The absolute worst one was when Scarlett Johansson’s character (named Alpha Deep Space Nine or something) saw her “real” self… and it was a clip from a recent Calvin Klein commercial starring her “real” “real” self.
On three separate occasions, I thought the movie was going to end. On the third, there was a great opportunity for the film to stop and leave room for a sequel (which I would not have seen), but alas, it went on and actually finished (terribly).
I was disappointed to learn that Bay is directing the as-yet-untitled Transformers movie, set for release in 2007. Maybe I’ll have some AMC coupons again.
