Stranded: Lincoln (Ewan McGregor) and Jordan (Scarlett Johansson) fight for their lives in The Island.

The Island
Ewan McGregor, Scarlett Johansson

Ewan McGregor stars in The Island as Lincoln Six Echo, a resident of a high-tech facility in the near future that claims to house the survivors of a global contamination.

In this controlled environment, inhabitants are forced to adhere to a strict code forbidding physical contact and enforcing strict health regulations. Each resident prays for the day when they will be selected via a lottery to go to “The Island” – supposedly the last pathogen-free place on earth where they can re-start their lives.

Lincoln starts questioning his surroundings and soon makes the shocking discovery that everyone in the facility is a clone of someone in the outside world, waiting to be harvested for body parts for their wealthy originals.

Together with a beautiful resident and friend named Jordan Two Delta (Scarlett Johansson), Lincoln stages a daring escape and attempts to find the truth before a bounty hunter (Djimon Hounsou) and his entourage can kill them. A notable scene involves Jordan seeing her human counterpart for the first time in a Calvein Klein commercial – the same advertisement in which Johannson appears in real life.

It’s a short, clever sequence and a humorous nod to audiences familiar with Johannson’s current celebrity status.

The Island is an intelligent and action-packed experience featuring excellent visuals, solid performances and plenty of food for thought.

Part sci-fi thriller, part blockbuster action flick and part ethical drama, it intertwines contemporary debates concerning medical ethics and cloning, with classical state ideology and utopian societies. Mix these sociopolitical issues with basic human curiosity and creativity, and you have a simple yet very effective plot.

The movie is rather lengthy but enjoyable one all the same. Buy a ticket to The Island – it’s worth the visit.

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– Cpl Emma Rainey

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