ISLAND DESERTED - CHOCOLATE FACTORY, WEDDING TAKE CAKE (DreamWorks "The Island" BOMBS!)

BOX OFFICE MOJO.COM ^ | 07/25/2005 | BRANDON GRAY

[Extremely Extreme Extremist]

A candy man and a couple of randy men handily squelched a weak attack of the clones, though overall business suffered. The year-to-year down trend returned as the top 12 pictures generated an estimated $128.9 million, down seven percent from the comparable frame last year.

Intended as a summer tent-pole, DreamWorks' The Island transplanted a meager estimated $12.1 million from 3,122 theaters. Director Michael Bay's $122 million clone thriller, co-produced by DreamWorks and Warner Bros., earned a fraction of such similar summer science fiction events as I, Robot and Minority Report and stands as a massive misfire along the lines of XXX: State of the Union or Rollerball.

"Clearly, this is a disappointing opening," said DreamWorks' head of distribution Jim Tharp. "The tracking had indicated that we were looking at this kind of opening, but it is still disappointing. I liked the movie. We can only hope the film finds an audience down the road." According the studio's exit polling, 51 percent of the audience was male and 52 percent was over the age of 25.

The Island marked Michael Bay's first movie away from mega-producer Jerry Bruckheimer and his first outright financial failure. Guided by Bruckheimer's slick, crowd-pleasing aesthetic, Bay's track record was five for five with the hits Bad Boys, The Rock, Armageddon, Pearl Harbor and Bad Boys II. The Island looked like Bay's past movies superficially, replete with cacophonous pyrotechnics and choppy editing, and it carried over the Bruckheimer tradition of off-beat casting with leads Ewan McGregor and Scarlett Johansson.

Gone from the equation were an appealing premise and savvy marketing. The Island had a genre identity crisis, crudely mixing futuristic sci-fi with present-day action in what looked like a cross between Logan's Run and The 6th Day.

[unlearner]

I saw The Island, and it was very entertaining. The story line is fairly plausible, the action is top notch, the characters and world of the future are interesting if not compelling.

Some of the complaints by critics are unwarranted. It made me wonder if they really were paying attention to details.

There are some things some Christians may find objectionable - like a small amount of sexualization (no nudity) and profanity. On the flip side, there is a scene where a man tells the female lead "Jesus must love you... yes, Jesus loves you." I took the line as sincere and tipping the hat to Christians. Steve Buscemi's character describes God in a negative way, but his character is not really a positive model in the story.

My measure for movie success has three levels. First, it must entertain, i.e. hold our attention and keep us interested in the story and characters. The Island succeeds on this level completely. One caveat is that it runs a little long. It never dragged though. I just prefer 90-120 minute lengths (unless they bring back intermissions). Actually this might be a selling point for DVD ownership. Like one critic said, this movie is a double feature in one. And both movies work well, I might add.

On the second level, a movie should inform. That is, the audience should learn something. I would say The Island succeeds moderately in depicting a possible future and providing a social commentary of medical ethics. It does not contribute much new though on this level.

On the third level, some movies have the power to change the audience for the better. As an example, It's A Wonderful Life caused a number of people to abandon suicide plans. And many others have been inspired to appreciate the gift of life more fully. On this level, The Island does not achieve much, in my opinion. I could be wrong though. Perhaps the stance on cloning might cause some to rethink their position on embryonic stem cell research or abortion. I would be surprised.

Any way, The Island is, in my opinion, a well made film. It deserves consideration from adult and teenage audiences. It is not entirely original, but it is also not a cliche or rehashed story. For those interested, I would liken the story to a Matrix prequel. The visuals are worth going to see on the big screen.

[Felicity Fahrquar]

I've said it before, I'll say it again: Michael Bay movie = pointless use of slow motion shots + lots of things going kaboom (often with both elements at once - things going kaboom in slow motion). I'll admit to The Rock being something of a guilty pleasure, but I'd rather just watch Bay's trailers, thanks; they usually have lots of slow-mo kabooms, so I get to see the best parts of the flick AND satisfy my not-so-deeply repressed pyromaniacal tendencies.

I'd give my opinion of Bad Boys II, but this is a family forum...

[Rastus]

LOL. What did this Plumber guy say that got him removed? Last I read, he was asking me about the Thin Red Line.

[Felicity Fahrquar]

LOL!

[Recovering_Democrat]

The Island marked Michael Bay's first movie away from mega-producer Jerry Bruckheimer and his first outright financial failure. Guided by Bruckheimer's slick, crowd-pleasing aesthetic, Bay's track record was five for five with the hits Bad Boys, The Rock, Armageddon, Pearl Harbor and Bad Boys II. The Island looked like Bay's past movies superficially, replete with cacophonous pyrotechnics and choppy editing, and it carried over the Bruckheimer tradition of off-beat casting with leads Ewan McGregor and Scarlett Johansson.

Gone from the equation were an appealing premise and savvy marketing. The Island had a genre identity crisis, crudely mixing futuristic sci-fi with present-day action in what looked like a cross between Logan's Run and The 6th Day.

Of course, the movie could be crap, too...did anyone ever consider that possibility?

[Caipirabob]

I wish there were more G-Rated movies for the kids. They are few and far between. We've taken the kids to see "Madagascar" and "Chocolate Factory", which was probably a bit too much with the things that happened to the children in the movie.

At any rate, between myself and thw ife, we declined the oppotunity to see WOTW. We've met our "remake" quota for the summer.

[unlearner]

didn't see the comment

[fishbabe]

well, it depends on how much it cost to make and how much money they threw at marketing...

[Paul C. Jesup]

This is Blade Runner Two.

No, the forgein movie "2046" looks to be like "Blade Runner".

Then there is Total Recall the TV Series which should have been titled Blade Runner the TV Series.

[Huck]

I've never even heard of The Island. But I also haven't stepped into a theater since the first Lord of the Rings movie, whenever that was.

[mdmathis6]

It's only being declared a "flop" because of what Cruise has been doing publically....if Cruise had kept his mouth shut wotw's would be sailing toward the 400 million mark in the US alone!

[Jhensy]

Michael Bay is the flat-out worst, with 'The Rock' his crowning achievement. How some people can claim to like this rip-off piece of crap is beyond me.

Watch the San Francisco car-chase scene where nothing actually happens, just jumpy editing and screechy sound effects... where the producers didn't want to hurt the Lambourghini used for the scene.

Watch Nicholas Cage at his mouth-breathing obnoxious worst. Or Ed Harris as the right-wing military nutcase who will kill millions and overthrow the US, all over something like pay raises for veterans... some stupid liberal guilt trip Bay came up with.

Watch the sub-plot about tourists held in Alcatraz that Bay completely forgets about... aah, I could go on...

Then there's 'Armageddon'... and 'Pearl Harbor'... he's the worst, most dishonest rip-off of all Hollywood directors. May he bomb forever.

[NativeNewYorker]

I saw The Island on opening night in Manhattan. Unenthusiastic crowd filled 2/3 of a smallish theater.

I too stopped counting the obvious "homages" to Blade Runner, Logan's Run, THX1138, Coma...

[AD from SpringBay]

Hollywood is so over, wonder when they're going to figure it out?

I have a hope that someday Hollywood stars will be unknown outside of Hollywood, like an aquarium full of snails on the bottom of the Atlantic. From the inside their world looks pretty big, but from the outside looking in - its just more junk on the bottom. Do we really need a professional acting class on a nation-wide scale? Couldn't we get by with just having acting troupes or local community theaters?

[chilepepper]

ah but it is a slump since hollywood has become so bloated, with such a huge number of minor royalty media stars, that it requires a huge amount of money to stay afloat.

watch while the corrupt, leftist, money-hungry monster starts to devour its own since there isn't enough money coming in to supply *all* of these two-bit hacks with cocaine and beach-front properties...

[rabidralph]

That depends on the budget to make the movie and then to promote it. Two-hundred mil isn't a whole lot of money.

[My Favorite Headache]

I took my son to see the Bad News Bears...I give it 3 stars...had a lot of good laughs and kept the political correctness out of the script THANK GOD. Tanner was a total foul mouthed punk just like the first and it couldn't have been played better.

[dfwgator]

Watch the San Francisco car-chase scene where nothing actually happens, just jumpy editing and screechy sound effects... where the producers didn't want to hurt the Lambourghini used for the scene.

Bullitt, it wasn't.

[My Favorite Headache]

Didn't it run 35 million domestically to promoter war of the worlds and another 35 million globally? Take 70 million off that tab for me and then we have a direct profit from here on out.

[AD from SpringBay]

There goes The Wild Bunch, The Godfather, Taxi Driver and Apocalypse Now

Those are some really nice movies there - the epitome of American filmdom - wonderful classics containing rape, gross violence, prostitution, and drugs. I'd say you've chosen three films that well represent Hollywood.