On DVD: The Island

The Island stars Ewan McGregor and Scarlett Johansson as two people living in a domed society somewhere in the future. It appears the society is well planned and organized if not a little mundane and the only relief is a trip to “The Island”. The Island is the last place on earth that hasn’t been destroyed by the unnamed apocalyptic event that necessitated the creation of the domed society. The only way to get to the Island is to win a random lottery; we find out however that the Island isn’t all its cracked up to be. Our hero and heroine are then on the run and the mayhem begins.

Michael Bay (Bad Boys, The Rock, Pearl Harbor) directs the adventure and provides enough action and destruction for two films. This is not a bad thing though, Bay has a unique and creative way of filming action sequences and chase scenes and it works well in this film. McGregor and Johansson are little more than window dressing for Bay’s action but both do respectable and believable work. McGregor does particularly well when he has to play a dual role and basically interact with himself. Steve Buscemi shows up briefly and as usual does a great job as a secondary character.

The Island is a fun fast paced action adventure well suited for DVD. If I had seen it in the theater I would have been a little less enthused.