Review : The Island

Merriam-Webster Online describes an island as follows :

ISLAND:
Pronunciation: 'I-l&nd
Function: noun
Etymology: alteration (influenced by Old French isle) of earlier iland, from Middle English, from Old English Igland (akin to Old Norse eyland), from ig island (akin to Old English Ea river, Latin aqua water) + land land
1 : a tract of land surrounded by water and smaller than a continent

Here's what should be added to the definition

ISLAND, THE : A roller-coaster type movie that kicks your ass for 127 minutes and leaves you craving more.

Now with a start-up like this, you know I'm going to give this puppy a good rating. So here goes...

First we must begin with what this movie was ripped from. Some of my Sci-Fi buddies over at Spacecast say it's a rip-off of the movie The Clonus Horror (1979). Having not seen this movie and it seems pretty "obscure" at best, I won't comment on it. But judging from the user comments on IMDB, you can tell that it is in fact a rip-off. But you know what? I don't care, don't give a shit. I often bitch about rip-offs but in this case it is forgiven because this puppy rips off something even greater, something written 516 years BCE by some guy no one knows about anymore - some loser philosopher called Plato. The story referred to in his masterpiece, The Republic, is called "The Allegory of the Cave". This very allegory is what started my path in wanting to know "why?" when I was but a wee little college student, 17 year's old and on a seemingly neverending party.

So here is the story, the allegory: Have you ever had a dream, that you were so sure was real? What if you were unable to wake from that dream? How would you know the difference between the dream world and the real world? Sound familiar? It should, The Matrix's premise is the same as this movie. One movie goes on to greatness and forever moulding our pop culture into something else; the other will be remembered as a simple Hollywood summer blockbuster. Because in the end it is what it is. The allegory goes very deep. In The Republic it goes like this... (My redux version)

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Article Author: David Desjardins

Dave works in the IT industry despite his better judgment. He’s an artist at heart with a critical mind. He enjoys photography more than he could ever express. Dave feels a need to tweak his brain with copious amounts of taurine to stay sharp while absorbing all kinds of media on any medium. …

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  • 1 - Aaman

    Jul 26, 2005 at 9:36 am

    Fun review, you've touched on some core themes in all film - film in itself, is a depiction of The Cave, as the flickering shadows on cave-walls were the first films.

    I've found and added Clonus to your Amazon links, and to my Netflix list - thanks for the call-out.

  • 2 - Phillip Winn

    Jul 26, 2005 at 11:12 am

    So, um, did you like the movie? ;-)

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