In 1976 Logan Ran. Before him it was THX1138 in 1970. Now it's Lincoln Six Echo in Michael Bay's THE ISLAND

The reason for mentioning these two films is because if you have seen either, you have seen THE ISLAND. The set up is the same in all three cases, with Bay merely adding the current vogueish topic of cloning into the mix. Where THX1138 was controlled by drugs and video broadcasts of sex and violence and the ceremony of rebirth in LOGAN'S RUN simply kept the population in check, the clones here are fed the lie that they are survivors of a great contamination and that the world beyond is uninhabitable. They are programmed from creation to trust in what they are told and are kept in line with armed police and violent X-box games (product placement being even more prevalent in the future apparently).

The lottery, which gives hope to the clones by promising to take them to the last unspoiled place on Earth, the titular island, is merely the mechanism by which the clones are removed from the society for killing and organ harvesting when it is required. When Lincoln (Ewan McGregor) finds this out, just after Jordan Two Delta (Scarlett Johannsen) has won said lottery, he grabs her and goes on the run, finding out that the world is not as advertised and that there is an awful lot to blow up.

Ah yes, the destruction. As soon as Logan, sorry Lincoln, gets out with Jordan, the chase begins and goes on for about two hours. There is non-stop destruction with cars being totalled, helicopters being trashed, jet bikes being destroyed and even buildings near demolished. It gets a bit silly and way beyond the suspension of disbelief. Still, this is a Micheal Bay film, so you know what you're going to get when you buy the ticket. It's all done with the edginess and not-quite there camerawork that has marked action sequences since THE BOURNE SUPREMACY which is a bit pointless as reality is well and truly jettisoned with the floating trains and jetbikes.

McGregor and Johannsen make for a likeable and attractive couple (or even trio when Lincoln meets with his sponsor in a very unconvincing sequence) and manage to keep the film entertaining when it threatens to become just a dull CGI destructo fest. They are its human centre and they work well, bringing out the humour in their roles. Sean Bean gives good villain, although his doctor is indistinguishable from his villainous turn in GOLDENEYE and Djimon Hounsou plays the bounty hunter who comes good at the end with decent humanity.

If you want a serious dissection of the dangers of genetic engineering, then this isn't it (for that watch the infinitely superior GATTACA). If you want a mindless action flick, then this isn't it either. It falls between the two stools and manages not to satisfy either camp. Still, it's no PEARL HARBOR. Top

Trailer