Karnataka - Bangalore   

Sci-Fi meets action

HEDGING ONE'S BETS: Ewan McGregor and Scarlett Johansson in `The Island'.

Film: The Island (English)

Director: Michael Bay

Cast: Ewan McGregor, Scarlett Johansson, Sean Bean, Steve Buscemi

You can make a serious-minded science fiction film in the Spielberg (Minority Report) or Ridley Scott (Blade Runner) style.

Or you can give maximum bang for the customer's buck in a style made familiar by Michael Bay (Pearl Harbour, Armageddon).

But can you merge the two genres? Bay thinks he can - and "The Island" is the result.

The movie is a teasing Sci-Fi premise, till interval time, which then morphs into the Bay-standard action sequences with some eye popping, ear splitting chases where the scenery as usual takes a severe beating.

To begin at the (scientific) beginning, we have a couple of childlike adults code named Lincoln Six Echo ("L6E") (McGregor) and Jordan Two Delta (Johansson), who are inhabitants of a strange, sealed world where the only highlight is a regular lottery where the winner gets to go to a nameless "The Island."

"L6E" is a bit too curious for his own good and stumbles upon the truth about the whole set up - some sort of clone factory run by the sinister Merrick (Sean Bean). A maintenance worker (Buscemi) befriends "L6E" and his lady friend to escape into the wider world and the second half of the film, set in a real location, Los Angeles, allows the director to unleash his trademark action sequences.

Those looking for brainy Sci-Fi material will find much of the film too loud and mindlessly destructive. And those who go merely to get another dose of Bay-induced thrills will find a good half, yawn inducing if not mildly repellent. It's called hedging one's bets, the Hollywood style.

ANAND PARTHASARATHY

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Stories in this Section

Statue: foundation to seek Dharam Singh's intervention
Youth found murdered in Aralur
Youth Congress members told to help party restore stature
Poor pass percentage in PU exam
Supreme Court order may stop noisy celebrations in residential areas
23 cases of polio reported in India this year
Sci-Fi meets action
Basavanagudi flyover is almost ready
Thomas panel to meet soon
3,000 students appear for VTU entrance test
Illegal single-digit lottery still in demand
`The Sound of Music' play making waves
Don't ignore outdoor activities, students told
BMP to take up more joint venture projects
Government will fall in a week: BJP
The Bug is back
Three rare surgeries
Accident victim dies in hospital
VTU bans cellphones in engineering colleges
Around the City
In Bangalore Today
Reader's Mail

Copyright © 2005, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu