Scarlett Johansson and Ewan McGregor are as always watchable playing their roles with passion and vigour. They are workers living in a futuristic city where emotion and friendship is basically outlawed.
As they wonder if there is more to life than waiting for their chance to go to ‘The Island’ – a supposed paradise that is accessed via a lottery. They plan an escape together and go on the run to try to uncover the truth.
The Island rides the improbability train wildly and at one point perhaps to complete derailment, but the plot is fast, explosive and exciting.
In short the high-octane action will keep viewers dizzied from exhaust fumes, enough so to suspend their disbelief just that faction more than normal. And besides the entire storyline is, at least in 2005, still a little futuristic, who’s to say that by 2019 people won’t be able to fall off buildings and survive?
When The Island reaches a point where a suitably tidy ending is in sight, credit goes to the writers and director Michael Bay for a genuine attempt to strive for a more rewarding and uplifting conclusion.
4 / 5
