The Island - Why didn't you guy's warn me?!

[topspeed]

Ugh...

This was the worst movie I've seen in a looooong time. Even Scarlett Johannsen's considerable physical presence couldn't save this ode to stupidity. Dumb story, horrible direction (I swear, Bay would show a dog pissing into the wind in slo-mo if he could!), and rotten acting. Yessir, it was a veritable trifecta of dung.

To think, it usually takes a few shots of Tequila to make me feel this bad...

[GMichael]

The one where the island is filled with drug dealers on one side and a small doped up community of wackos on the other? I saw that. Put me to sleep. On my worst list also. Right next to Bolaro.

[kexodusc]

Wow...I can feel your disappointment emanating through my monitor...

I didn't mind this movie. It was terribly derivative of Logan's Run, etc, and wasn't anything to get excited over, but as a rental it was okay.

Will I ever watch it again? Doubtful.

[Woochifer]

I heard it wasn't too good, so this one might be one of those "wait 'til it shows on HBO" movies for me. The movie flopped at the box office and got lukewarm reviews for the most part, but it didn't seem like a Battlefield Earth-like stinker.

[topspeed]

Battlefield Earth... *shudder*...thanks for bringing back that painful memory, Wooch. At least no money was lost on that one.

Kex,
Yeah, I saw a lot of Logan's Run in this, too. The difference is LR was good. The Island is what you'd get if Logan's Run and Soylent Green had an illegitimate love child...and then pee'd on it.

[Woochifer]

Battlefield Earth... *shudder*...thanks for bringing back that painful memory, Wooch. At least no money was lost on that one.

My wife and I actually rented that flick, presuming that if it was as bad as everybody said it was, it might be in the "so bad it's good" category. But, that was just so bad it's bad! That was one of those movies that had a semi-decent trailer (my wife is a sci-fi buff and tends to get roped in by trailers, and when we saw the Battlefield Earth trailer the first time, she was telling me, "Hey! Let's go see this!"). Turns out that every scene that wasn't absurdly horrible wound up in the trailer, which didn't leave much for the rest of the movie!

Kex,
Yeah, I saw a lot of Logan's Run in this, too. The difference is LR was good. The Island is what you'd get if Logan's Run and Soylent Green had an illegitimate love child...and then pee'd on it.

Damn! I guess I'll have to pound a few shots before viewing this feature!

And I guess we'll have to brace ourselves ... a Logan's Run remake apparently is in pre-production.

[caniac]

The shame of it is, that during the first 20 minutes or so I was thinking "this has the potential to be one of the better sci-fi movies I've seen in a long, long time".

Then it turned into the typical Michael Bay let's-ignore-the-story-and-considerable-acting-talent-of-our-cast-in-favor-of-blowing-everything-up you would expect.

[Defshep]

I loved this movie! I thought it had a pretty good social commentary, even though it was a retread of other sci-fi stories. But then again, most the sci-fi/action films today are rehashes of earlier, but still very relevant ideas. For instance, my 15 year-old would laugh hysterically at Logan's Run (it's hard for me to sit through it now), but he liked The Island. I like movies about the dangers of a contained, socially engineered society, and we should always question authority. I also thought it was a great action flick. I don't have this deep hatred of Michael Bay that some possess. The Rock and Armageddon were fun, mindless roller-coaster rides. Bad Boys 2, even, had some great stunts and action sequences. I still can't forgive him for Pearl Harbor, though...

[Worf101]

Just goes to show I guess. The whole family watfched it on Sunday night and loved it. I found the entire premise quite believable having known a few meglomanical rich folks in my life.. Folks with money and power would do anything , pay any price to outlive their inferiors. While the acting wasn't Shakespere the action was top notch. Great effects, lot's of loud explosions, some mild twist at the end and an overall great popcorn muncher... What the heck were you expecting King Lear???

Da "well everybodies got one" Worfster

[shokhead]

Watched it sat night,wasnt bad for a rental. I've seen big budget flicks a heck of alot worst.

[topspeed]

What the heck were you expecting King Lear???

Maybe not King Lear, but more depth than SpongeBob Squarepants might have been nice .

Hey brother, if you guys got off on this movie, more power to ya. For the record, I'm not necessarily anti-Bay. I just wish he'd move on from shooting

every

single

thing

in

s-l-o-w

m - o - t - i - o - n.

I mean, c'mon! He even shot a scene with the cop getting out of the car in slo-mo. WTF?!? What purpose does that serve??? That, and those damn puffs of smoke. He LOVES to have people coming out of a wall of smoke. Whether it's on the street, out of a burning building, or coming out the shower.

In slo-mo no less.

Blech.

[BEETLEMAN]

Yeah i rented this disaster last sat night, it did exceeded my expectations for action. but that wasnt enough to give it a pass in my ratings. i saw the original logans run when it came out, and although it is laughable now it is still an original idea.
Why cant anyone in hollyweird come out with an original idea, everything now is remakes. there must be thousands of decent scripts out there, must be the crack smoking producers who wont take a chance on something new....

[L.J.]

I saw it a couple of nights ago. I thought it was alright. Not bad, but not great. One I'll probably pull down to watch about once a year or so.

[Kam]

forgot to take it off my netflix queue and was waiting for me when i got home. shoulda just watched donnie darko again instead.

what's strange is how, usually, a cinematographer will put his stamp on the movie, but with bay, its not the case. it's bays' stamp, not the cinematographers. he's worked with several different cinematographers, yet i would have guessed the island was shot by the same guy who shot bad boy2 (wasnt) (the freeway chase in bb2 compared to the nearly identical one in the island), who was also not the guy who shot pearl harbor. even though in 5 seconds you know its a bay movie SOLELY on the look of it. seems like bay has a heavy hand in the cinematography.

not to mention an editor who obviously doesn't suffer from epilepsy.

[Sir Terrence the Terrible]

I saw this movie last night. I had very low expectations on this movie because of this very post. Maybe my standards for entertainment are alot lower than others, but I was entertained. Okay, I know Michael Bey's movies are intellectually lightweight(So is he based on his interview) but his movies keep my attention no matter how dorky and bad the dialog, or the fact that his movies often have plot holes large enough for a eighteen wheeler to drive throught(without even coming close to touching anything)

While his movies are Roger Ebert's nightmare, they are a hometheater dream. Rarely have I heard a bad soundtrack from his movies. They are loud, system challenging, and always have a music score that is very well recorded. This one is no different. Great premise but poorly executed, very entertaining.

[topspeed]

I saw this movie last night. I had very low expectations on this movie because of this very post. Maybe my standards for entertainment are alot lower than others, but I was entertained. Okay, I know Michael Bey's movies are intellectually lightweight(So is he based on his interview) but his movies keep my attention no matter how dorky and bad the dialog, or the fact that his movies often have plot holes large enough for a eighteen wheeler to drive throught(without even coming close to touching anything)

While his movies are Roger Ebert's nightmare, they are a hometheater dream. Rarely have I heard a bad soundtrack from his movies. They are loud, system challenging, and always have a music score that is very well recorded. This one is no different. Great premise but poorly executed, very entertaining.

Uhhh...are you sure you went to USC?

[Sir Terrence the Terrible]

Uhhh...are you sure you went to USC?

Yes, and my education there taught me just what to expect from Hollywood:P

I think everyone has different expectations from movies. While lame dialog can get on my nerves, it doesn't always remove the entertainment value from the movie. I liked to be entertained when I go to the movies, not schooled. I don't necessarily look for high art or I wouldn't have every gotten into hometheater. There are just not enough movies with a deep cohesive plot, great acting, superior cinematography, and first rate directing to support this expensive activity. So you take the bad, entertaining(but bad) and good, and let the chips fall where they may.

I have seen examples of movies getting critical acclaim from reviewers(Beloved comes to mind), and I was bored to tears watching it. For me entertainment is key, not necessarily critical acclaim.