"THE ISLAND"
(2005) (Ewan McGregor, Scarlett Johansson) (PG-13)

Alcohol/ Drugs	Blood/Gore	Disrespectful/ Bad Attitude	Frightening/ Tense Scenes	Guns/ Weapons
Mild	Moderate	Extreme	Moderate	Extreme
Imitative Behavior	Jump Scenes	Music (Scary/Tense)	Music (Inappropriate)	Profanity
Mild	None	Heavy	Mild	Heavy
Sex/ Nudity	Smoking	Tense Family Scenes	Topics To Talk About	Violence
Heavy	None	None	Moderate	Extreme

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QUICK TAKE:

Sci-fi: Hoping to win a lottery that will send them off to a tropical paradise, tightly monitored survivors of a supposed environmental disaster discover that things aren't what they seem or have been told by those in charge and then race to uncover the truth.

PLOT:

It's the year 2019 and survivors of some sort of ecological disaster live in a tightly controlled and regimented environment where everyone dresses the same and hopes of winning the daily lottery that promises to have them relocated to a tropical paradise, such as recently occurred for one man (MICHAEL CLARKE DUNCAN). For Lincoln Six-Echo (EWAN McGREGOR), that doesn't seem to be enough and he begins to question his existence and that of everyone there, including his friend Jordan Two-Delta (SCARLETT JOHANSSON).

Of course, he has reason to be inquisitive and suspicious as he's befriended James McCord (STEVE BUSCEMI), a systems maintenance worker in the bowels of the complex who occasionally smuggles contraband to Lincoln. When the three-year survivor encounters an insect from the supposedly contaminated outside world, he wants to know what's really going on. Psychiatrist Dr. Merrick (SEAN BEAN) tries to reassure him that all is well and orders some tests on him, but that doesn't stop Lincoln from questioning what he eats, how he dresses and everything else about himself, the others, and this odd world in which they live, especially as more survivors are constantly being brought in to their complex.

When Lincoln goes on an unauthorized recon trip, he quickly realizes part of what's going on. Racing back to Jordan, the two manage to escape from the complex and head off into the real world that's as foreign as the moon to them. As Merrick hires a security team headed by Albert Laurent (DJIMON HOUNSOU) to find the two renegades, Lincoln and Jordan find McCord who fills in the rest of the blanks about what's really going on. From that point, and as they set out to find Tom Lincoln (EWAN McGREGOR) and Sarah Jordan (SCARLETT JOHANSSON) who are the last pieces of their mystery puzzle, they do what they must to survive.

WILL KIDS WANT TO SEE IT?

If they're into sci-fi films, or are fans of director Michael Bay's movies and/or anyone in the cast, they just might.

WHY THE MPAA RATED IT: PG-13

For intense sequences of violence and action, some sexuality and language.

CAST AS ROLE MODELS:

EWAN McGREGOR plays two versions of the same man, one who realizes his life isn't anything like what he's been told and then goes on the run once he learns that. He fights various people who come after him and Jordan, with whom he later has sex. He also plays the rich man who paid for himself to be cloned to fix his hepatitis (from lots of sex he says), isn't happy to meet his clone, and uses some brief, strong profanity.

SCARLETT JOHANSSON plays two versions of the same woman, one who's Lincoln Six-Echo's friend who similarly goes on the run, while the other is a famous model in the real world. The former has sex with Lincoln.

SEAN BEAN plays the director of the clone institute who lies to the clones about their true nature, and kills or orders others to kill some of those clones.

DJIMON HOUNSOU plays the security agent hired by Merrick to find and kill Lincoln and Jordan.

STEVE BUSCEMI plays a technician in the complex who befriends Lincoln and eventually tells him the truth about everything. He uses some profanity.

MICHAEL CLARKE DUNCAN plays a clone who isn't happy when he learns the true nature of his existence.

CAST, CREW, & TECHNICAL INFO

HOW OTHERS RATED THIS MOVIE

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Curious if this title is entertaining, any good, and/or has any artistic merit?
Then read OUR TAKE of this film.

(Note: The "Our Take" review of this title examines the film's artistic merits and does not take into account any of the possibly objectionable material listed below).

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OUR WORD TO PARENTS:

Here's a quick look at the content found in this sci-fi action film that's been rated PG-13. Profanity consists of at least 1 "f" word, while other expletives and colorful phrases are also uttered. Some sexually related dialogue is present (including a nonsexual bit mistaken for homosexual-related talk -- played for comedy), as are quick and partial views of a sexual encounter (no nudity, but a lot of cleavage is seen in a bra) and separate views of sexually oriented role playing attire. Some scantly clad women are seen in other scenes, while partial brief nudity may be present (seen from a distance thus obscuring details, if any).

Violence consists of people killing or attempting to kill others (with gunfire and deadly chemical agents inserted into their bodies), along with fighting (some it rather brutal in nature). Some of those scenes have bloody results and they and other moments of peril (including a violent and damaging highway chase sequence) might be unsettling or suspenseful to some viewers, while others may enjoy the action "ride" aspect of it all. Some of the action and other physicality might be enticing for some kids to imitate, while various characters have varying degrees of bad attitudes. Thematic elements include the concepts of cloning as well as what constitutes life, while some characters drink.

If you're still concerned about the film and its appropriateness for yourself or anyone else in your home who may be interested in seeing it, we suggest that you take a closer look at our detailed listings for more specific information regarding the film's content.

For those concerned with bright flashes of light on the screen, there such moments in at least one scene.

For those prone to visually induced motion sickness, various bits of camerawork are jumpy or spin around in 360 degree or more circles (around certain people).

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ALCOHOL OR DRUG USE

McCord drinks from a flask and then lets Lincoln have some.

People have exotic looking drinks in a bar, but it's implied that they're all non-alcoholic.

Miscellaneous people drink in a bar.

McCord tells a woman in his place to go out and pick up a six-pack (presumably of beer). He then pours liquid from his flask into his lemonade or something similar.

Tom has a beer.

BLOOD/GORE

We see flash images of people whose skin appears slightly translucent (we see many veins through it, etc.).

We hear the sound of Lincoln urinating (we see him standing there, but don't see the act) and then see that his urine is automatically analyzed.

We see a full-sized, adult clone being "born" out a fluid-filled sack and the "baby" is covered in goo and has something come out of its mouth (when the "umbilical cord" is removed, some bloody-looking fluid briefly comes out of the sack).

We see a robot surgery that's about to take place where a large, rotating bone saw is lowered down to a man's chest (we don't see the impact, but we hear it, and then see a lone trickle of blood run off his chest and over his shoulder). The man, however, isn't fully knocked out and comes to as this is happening. He then panics and gets up off the operating table (with a bloody pad covering his chest) and runs out, pursued by guards. We then see blood on him as well as a trail on the floor as he's pulled away.

We see a bloody liver that's been removed from a live person (it's then freeze wrapped).

We see brief still photos (shot in an artistic fashion) of various people missing limbs and another with a bad lesions or something similar on their face.

The bartender tells Lincoln and Jordan that McCord is "in the can...taking a dump" and they don't understand what that means. Lincoln then finds McCord in the stall with his pants around his ankles.

Lincoln has some discomfort when he urinates out the little mechanical robot scanners that were earlier put in his eye (we don't see the act, but we do see them in the urinal).

As a man reaches through an opening, Jordan fires a nail gun into his hand, with bloody results.

A man has some blood on his head.

Following a harrowing crash, both Lincoln and Jordan have a little blood on their heads.

Jordan suddenly pulls out a gun and shoots a man in the leg (with bloody results).

We see an old branding scar on Laurent's palm.

DISRESPECTFUL/BAD ATTITUDE

Those responsible for the overall situation here obviously have bad attitudes - especially Merrick who refers to the people under his control as "product" and hires Laurent to kill those who've escaped.

Some viewers might not like a jokey answer that McCord makes about God where he says that's the person you ask for favors that don't ever come true.

Lincoln watches (in secret) where a needle is inserted into an IV line of a woman who's just given birth. She's strapped down, convulses and then dies (a purposeful murder on the medical team's part). The newborn is then given to an awaiting couple (who presumably are not fully aware of what's just transpired).

Some guards laugh at the sight of a man panicking after awakening in surgery and trying to flee the scene.

Merrick initially tells Laurent that the clones are not sentient and thus not human, but Laurent knows otherwise and Merrick then admits that in order to have healthy donor organs in the clones, they had to make the clones sentient.

Some viewers might not like it when McCord says "Never give a woman a credit card."

Merrick orders Laurent to use any force that is necessary to get the escapees, including attacking and killing the police who've just arrested them.

We see Jordan being prepared for organ removal surgery and a man looks under the sheet covering her chest and mutters "too bad."

FRIGHTENING SCENES

Scenes listed under "Violence," "Blood/Gore" and "Jump Scenes" may be unsettling, suspenseful or scary to younger viewers and/or those with low tolerance levels for such material.

Merrick has Lincoln strapped into a chair and then lets loose tiny mechanical "bugs" that then crawl up Lincoln's face, into his eye and then burrow beneath his eyelid (supposedly to perform a brain scan test). That causes him some pain/discomfort.

Lincoln watches (in secret) where a needle is inserted into an IV line of a woman who's just given birth. She's strapped down, convulses and then dies (a purposeful murder on the medical team's part). The newborn is then given to an awaiting couple (who presumably are not fully aware of what's just transpired).

We see a robot surgery that's about to take place where a large, rotating bone saw is lowered down to a man's chest (we don't see the impact, but we hear it, and then see a lone trickle of blood run off his chest and over his shoulder). The man, however, isn't fully knocked out and comes to as this is happening. He then panics and gets up off the operating table (with a bloody pad covering his chest) and runs out, pursued by guards. He runs into several people, including one man who he knocks through a glass wall. Guards then shoot small harpoon type objects into his two calves and the cables attached to them go taut, sending him crashing to the floor. We see blood on him as well as a trail on the floor as he's pulled away.

Lincoln and Jordan come across a large room where newborn adults are suspended from the ceiling and involuntarily twitching from being programmed with memories, etc.

There are several scenes where Lincoln and Jordan run and try to hide from guards who are after them.

Lincoln and Jordan come across a rattling rattlesnake once outside. Not knowing what it is or that it's dangerous, Lincoln gets close to the snake that then strikes out at (but doesn't hit) him.

Lincoln and Jordan end up on a large transport truck carrying what look like enormous axles, with Laurent's men opening fire on them from other vehicles during a chase down a busy highway. The huge axles end up falling off the truck and bounce and slam their way across the highway, causing all sorts of spectacular vehicle crashes. Another large piece of metal slams into a trailing car and splits it in half, while a big truck flips over. In all of that, people are presumably killed or badly injured.

Lincoln and Jordan try to escape on a small, two-person flying vehicle, but are chased by the same and have various close calls with things in-flight (including a helicopter that they nearly hit). One such vehicle explodes during this and the two then crash with their vehicle through an office building, sliding across the floor and slamming into a man and knocking others aside. They eventually crash out the other side of the building and hit some scaffolding, with Lincoln barely catching Jordan. A chopper opens fire on them there and inside some huge logo lettering on the side of the building. The letter they're in then starts to break off and finally falls from the building, while the chopper is hit and catches on fire. Both crash down and smash into things (such as vehicles) on the street, while Lincoln and Jordan land in some sort of mesh netting that saves their lives.

A sign falls and nearly hits Lincoln and Tom in a car.

Various clones are led into a room where they're to be gassed to death (they don't know that), but Laurent and Jordan rescue them just in the nick of time.

GUNS/WEAPONS

Handguns/Futuristic Weapons/Small harpoon-like shooting devices: Carried and/or used to threaten, wound or kill others and/or cause property damage. See "Violence" for details.

IMITATIVE BEHAVIOR

Phrases: "Sitting downstairs on my f*cking sofa," "Sh*tty," "(Let's cut the) Sh*te," "Oh sh*t," "Loser," "What are you two clowns looking at?" "Shoved up his ass," "Dude," "What the hell?" "Freaks," "How the hell'd you get out?" "Bitching," "Sit back and shut up," "You're creeping me out," "Freak show," "Speed-freak," "Petrol-head," "You wanker" and "You freaking idiot."

All of the fighting, action and others stunts might be enticing for some kids to imitate.

A man flicks a newcomer's ear from behind as a practical joke.

We see photos of Tom playfully giving "the finger."

JUMP SCENES

None.

MUSIC (SCARY/TENSE)

A heavy amount of suspenseful and action-oriented music plays in the film.

MUSIC (INAPPROPRIATE)

A song has lyrics about the singer liking it when a woman moves and shakes it.

PROFANITY

At least 1 "f" word, 5 "s" words, 2 hells, 1 ass, 1 S.O.B., 1 wanker, 2 uses of "Oh God" and 1 use each of "God," "My God," "Oh God" and "Oh my God" as exclamations.

SEX/NUDITY

We see Lincoln shirtless.

We briefly see a woman (from behind) in a bikini (but nothing explicit).

We see what's identified as a Picasso painting that shows what look like abstract breasts on an abstract woman.

A man refers to some women in their complex as "breeders."

Lincoln spots some pin-ups of scantly clad women (revealing but not explicit) on McCord's wall and he asks if they're his friends (having never seen anything like that before). McCord then jokingly says that sometimes they are (presumably a masturbation reference).

From an aerial distance, we see many full-sized, adult clones in fluid-filled sacks (waiting to be "born") and it's possible that bare breasts and the sides of bare butts are seen -- but such sights are brief if there at all and no details are discernible).

A woman shows some cleavage in a tight dress.

We see a sexily dressed woman in a slow-motion walk (to further accentuate her sexiness).

Merrick explains that the sex drive was supposedly eliminated altogether from the clones.

A sexy dancer in a bar shows some cleavage. We later see some miscellaneous cleavage in the same bar.

A song has lyrics about the singer liking it when a woman moves and shakes it.

A man walks in on Lincoln having just pulled McCord from a bathroom stall (he's in his boxers) and pushed him against a bathroom wall. The man then overhears McCord telling Lincoln that he'll take him back to his place so that they can be alone (and the man mistakes that for being sexual in nature when it's not).

A woman in McCord's place wears a short and tight leather skirt.

As McCord tries to find Jordan some clothes she can wear to go incognito, he goes through his wife/girlfriend's closet and holds out a lacy bra, while Jordan pulls out a sex-play nursing outfit. McCord grabs that from her and sheepishly states that it's not for her and is from mail order.

We see the silhouette style design of a shapely woman (like that seen on truck mud flaps).

In a TV ad, we see a brief, sensual kiss.

Tom states that he got hepatitis from his philandering ways and then explains to Lincoln that that means he had "lots and lots of sex." He then realizes Lincoln is a virgin and finds that amazing, considering that he's traveling with Jordan. He then tells Lincoln that he won't spoil the surprise (of losing one's virginity) but says that Lincoln is in for a treat.

Lincoln and Jordan do some passionate kissing and they end up on some stairs doing the same. He states "that tongue thing's amazing" and we then cut to a shot of her on top of him (showing a lot of cleavage in her bra) with alternating shots showing both on top of the other (but no actual sex act is seen, although it's heavily implied).

We see some miscellaneous women in bikinis.

We see Jordan being prepared for organ removal surgery and a man looks under the sheet covering her chest and mutters "too bad."

SMOKING

None.

TENSE FAMILY SCENES

None.

TOPICS TO TALK ABOUT

What happens when people question the status quo regarding themselves and the society in which they live.

Cloning.

What constitutes human life.

Organ harvesting/donation.

The concept of cheating death by having one's failing body parts replaced with newer, cloned ones.

Merrick's claim that he gives life (although by taking organs from cloned, sentient beings, thus killing them).

VIOLENCE

We hear the sound of what may be a shot and then see Lincoln fall into some water, followed by some struggling with others (all seen in quick, flashed images in what turns out to be a dream).

A man punches an elevator video display in frustration.

Merrick has Lincoln strapped into a chair and then lets loose tiny mechanical "bugs" that then crawl up Lincoln's face, into his eye and then burrow beneath his eyelid (supposedly to perform a brain scan test). That causes him some pain/discomfort.

We see Lincoln and Jordan fighting with kicks and punches thrown and Lincoln spitting out a tooth from one such blow, but these are just virtual representations of them inside a full-sized video game where the two real people control their virtual counterparts in the "fight."

In a nightmare, Lincoln is grabbed from bed, thrown against a wall and then tossed into some water.

Lincoln watches (in secret) where a needle is inserted into an IV line of a woman who's just given birth. She's strapped down, convulses and then dies (a purposeful murder on the medical team's part).

We see a robot surgery that's about to take place where a large, rotating bone saw is lowered down to a man's chest (we don't see the impact, but we hear it, and then see a lone trickle of blood run off his chest and over his shoulder). The man, however, isn't fully knocked out and comes to as this is happening. He then panics and gets up off the operating table (with a bloody pad covering his chest) and runs out, pursued by guards. He runs into several people, including one man who he knocks through a glass wall. Guards then shoot small harpoon type objects into his two calves and the cables attached to them go taut, sending him crashing to the floor. We see blood on him as well as a trail on the floor as he's pulled away.

As Lincoln races to see Jordan with news of what he's discovered, men with futuristic guns are seen approaching. They open fire on Lincoln and Jordan who are then on the run. One of them trips on ball bearings (or something similar) that have spilled onto the floor, sending the guard down to the floor quite hard. Lincoln then spins a pipe around that clocks another guard in the face, but a third then repeatedly hits Lincoln with some sort of rod and then kicks him once he's on the ground (in a brutal fashion). Jordan then stops that by hitting the guard on the head with a large wrench, knocking him out.

A person is knocked down during a chase.

Lincoln finds McCord in the stall with his pants around his ankles and snatches him from there and pushes him back against a wall (McCord is in his boxers).

A man is shot, falls off a balcony, and crashes through the glass display atop a bar.

As a man reaches through an opening, Jordan fires a nail gun into his hand, with bloody results.

Lincoln repeatedly hits a man with a crowbar or something similar.

Police hold their guns on Lincoln and Jordan and slam both down on a car.

A huge truck smashes into a police car carrying Lincoln and Jordan, ripping it in half. Laurent's forces then open fire on other cops, with at least one of them hit and various vehicles are blasted by gunfire.

Lincoln and Jordan end up on a large transport truck carrying what look like enormous axles, with Laurent's men opening fire on them from other vehicles during a chase down a busy highway. The huge axles end up falling off the truck and bounce and slam their way across the highway, causing all sorts of spectacular vehicle crashes. Another large piece of metal slams into a trailing car and splits it in half, while a big truck flips over. In all of that, people are presumably killed or badly injured.

More machine gun fire is aimed at Lincoln and Jordan on the transport vehicle from small, two-man flying vehicles. Lincoln smashes a man on one who then appears to accidentally shoot the driver with his gun and both then slam into an overhead highway sign (at least one of them is alive).

Lincoln and Jordan try to escape on a small, two-person flying vehicle, but are chased by the same and have various close calls with things in-flight (including a helicopter that they nearly hit). One such vehicle explodes during this and the two then crash with their vehicle through an office building, sliding across the floor and slamming into a man and knocking others aside. They eventually crash out the other side of the building and hit some scaffolding, with Lincoln barely catching Jordan. A chopper opens fire on them there and inside some huge logo lettering on the side of the building. The letter they're in then starts to break off and finally falls from the building, while the chopper is hit and catches on fire. Both crash down and smash into things (such as vehicles) on the street, while Lincoln and Jordan land in some sort of mesh netting that saves their lives.

Merrick inserts a needle into a man's neck, causing him to convulse and then die.

Tom hits Lincoln with a golf club when he finds the latter inside his house, causing him to crash into some sort of glass display case.

As a chopper flies after and shoots at the car they're in, Lincoln and Tom struggle over control of a handgun in a fast-moving car. During this, Lincoln bites Tom's hand and then hits him in the face, following by more hitting and another moment of Lincoln biting Tom's hand. Lincoln then bangs Tom's face to the dash, while the chopper continues to shot at their car.

Tom tackles Lincoln and the two struggle, with one hitting the other on the head.

Laurent shoots a man dead (seen in slow motion).

Jordan holds a gun on Lincoln until he convinces her it's really him.

Merrick orders that all of the newly born adult clones be "recalled" (meaning they're going to be killed). We then see the fluid-filled sacks being cut open and the bodies injected with some sort of deadly agent that causes them to convulse and die.

Laurent grabs Jordan.

Lincoln hits a company man on the head.

We see Jordan being prepared for organ removal surgery and a man looks under the sheet covering her chest and mutters "too bad." She then suddenly pulls out a gun and shoots the man in the leg (with bloody results) and holds the gun on him and another person before escaping.

Lincoln tries to shoot through some glass to kill power to the complex.

Jordan holds a gun on Laurent, but he approaches, disarms and grabs her.

Laurent shoots one person to rescue others.

A man fires a small harpoon like device into Lincoln's back (the impact is not seen) and yanks him backwards. The two end up fighting and bashing each other, with the man pushing the harpoon in Lincoln's back, causing him pain. A big explosion then goes off and the man uses the line attached to the harpoon to pull down Lincoln. He then uses that to cause more pain to Lincoln. The man tries to strangle Lincoln who then manages to fire another harpoon into the man's throat, all as an enormous fan blade above them crashes down and nearly hits them, causing all sorts of property damage. The two end up dangling from a catwalk of sorts with the man appearing to die on that harpoon line from which he hangs.

Reviewed July 9, 2005 / Posted July 22, 2005

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