THE ISLAND is one of those films that starts off promising with an intriguing first hour before descending into the kind of banality that only Michael Bay knows how to make – see TRANSFORMERS for another good example. For the first hour or so we're put into an institutionalised world of clones and cloning and the suspense moves along quite a bit. Although the movie is obviously heavily derived from others that have come before it – LOGAN'S RUN, MINORITY REPORT, most noticeably THE CLONUS HORROR (the makers of whom were compensated due to the 'similarities'),it moves along nicely with some nice supporting acting to drive us along. All right, so Bay's camera-work can be a bit distracting (vertigo-inducing at times) but I was really enjoying it.

Then the two heroes of the film escape the compound and the buck stops there. It's as if that was the end of the script and the guys on set were just making it up as they went along. Sure, there are a few twists (including the inevitable clone-meeting-the-cloned scene) and an ending that confirms EXACTLY to Hollywood standards, but for the rest this is just a big, long bloated action scene that lasts almost an hour and a half after the story ends. Now I love action movies – and sometimes I love films where they're just action without story (usually martial arts films like WARRIOR KING). But the action here is overblown, over-bloated, and soulless, action where they're throwing millions of dollars a minute at the screen but can get hardly anything right. Cars explode, people are shot and blown up, buildings are trashed and people jump off skyscrapers and survive. None of it is remotely realistic but I did enjoy – hugely, come to that – one bit, which is the freeway chase, when the good guys on a truck are off-loading train wheels at their pursuers. Okay, so it's an obvious reprise of the freeway chase in BAD BOYS II, but in terms of sheer spectacle and carnage it takes some beating.

So much time is spent on the action that the ending is really rushed and full of plot holes. Once again we have an enemy base with a built-in 'self destruct' button (or rather, a lever here) that blows the whole thing – why do they make such expensive places so simple to destroy? There are other crazy moments – characters switching allegiance just like that, one character getting captured and not even searched so they can produce a weapon later – but by this stage you end up not caring. The fault definitely lies with Bay and the scriptwriter, because the actors do a decent job. McGregor and Johansson are young, pretty, fairly charismatic leads, and the likes of Michael Clarke Duncan, Steve Buscemi, and Ethan Phillips put in great minor performances. Sean Bean's on hand as the typecast British bad guy but he's still good value for money. The only one who sticks out like a sore thumb is Djimon Hounsou, so good in BLOOD DIAMOND, so wooden here. You wouldn't believe it's the same guy, but then again he gets about three lines of dialogue and the camera just dwells on him looking 'cool' for the rest of it. In the end, THE ISLAND is really a film of two halves – a good first half and a pretty bad second. It evens off as a distinctly average movie, one you can watch but not bother seeing again.

It's 2019 and the world is contaminated. Lincoln 6 Echo (Ewan McGregor) lives in a golden cage, a futuristic facility where his every need is tended for. He is closely monitored and hopes to be chosen for The Island, the last pathogen free zone. He's been having disturbing nightmares and he keeps questioning his world. Everybody is childlike. The supervisors are hiding something from them. His friend Jordan 2 Delta (Scarlett Johansson) gets picked by the lottery. While exploring, he discovers that the facility is actually a farce. Lincoln witnesses a former lottery winner escaping from a botched surgery to remove his organs. He and his kind are clones. They are being used for spare parts. He escapes with Jordan followed by the corporate henchmen led by mercenary Albert Laurent (Djimon Hounsou).

Before the reveal, this is actually quite boring. The oddities make me scratch my head mostly. It's not interesting enough for me to ponder. I also find all the brand names very annoying. Why the clones need brand names is beyond me. And why is there a holographic projection? Those are just two of the many questionable things. The movie also feels derivative of other better sci-fi. There are a lot of flashy bits and pieces to distract the audience. Once it switches after the escape, director Michael Bay uses all his expertise to make an above average action adventure movie. That's one thing he's great at. The man knows how to do action. The car chase with the railroad axles come off great. It almost makes me forget all the questions I have.

Critics hate this movie and who knows why, maybe the expectations for it were huge, but I am telling you The Island is an amazing time.

Normally I shy away from Michael Bay movies or anything of his material but The Island is like his rare dime of the pile.

There is great acting and chemistry between McGregor and Johansson and Steve Buschemi was near flawless in his short cameo appearances.

The plot is sci-fi, action and some great drama. I really REALLY enjoyed the story as it surprised me at times. I thought the plot was bold and risky but it definitely payed off and it's too bad Bay hasn't gone this direction with a lot of his movies. He always seems to ditch stories and focus way too much on action to fill in the time. The Island succeeds because it's a strong blend of those 3 genres.

It wouldn't be surprising if you have never heard of this movie. I never see it on tv and I don't know many people who have seen it. It is sadly very underrated. This is an excellent movie and I strongly recommend it to anyone.