Action with a sci-fi twist
The Island
Ewan McGregor, Scarlett Johansson

Rating: 3/5

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 Calvin 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 socio-political issues with basic human curiosity and creativity, and you have a simple yet very effective plot.

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

– Lieutant Simone Heyer