Review : The Island - Page 3

Special Effects? VERY FREAKING GOOD. When Lincoln and Linclone are side by side, you cannot tell, you cannot see the special effects. The cityscapes are absolutely fantastic, the cave is impressive and then there's the... well I'll get to that yummy part later.

Any respectable Michael Bay movie has to have a huge over-the-top adrenaline releasing heart-stopping car chase. If you thought the car chase from Bad Boys II was insane... buckle-up Rupert, because Mikey just went PRO. This car chase is the over-the-top car chase to end all over-the-top car chases. It's at least 5 times better than Bad Boys II's car chase and then... then it really goes over the edge because there are speeder-bikes. Yes speeder-bikes, like Return of the Jedi speeder bikes, but BETTER. And then it goes over-the-top even more, even to much, but considering this is a summer roller-coaster movie and everything is just superbly well done, I'm more forgiving. Most prototype cars and trucks in this movie are relics because of the time line but what an abundant source of really cool looking vehicles.

The score is a relentless assault of industrial music (meaning NIN and Manson inspired with a dash of David Bowie) and also a lot of well placed classical music when the action takes a break (there's only 2 breaks in the movie, so don't bring a big gulp in there) which makes for a thunderous score that keeps you on the edge of your seat.

Now here's the best part, at least for my inner-photographer. The lighting, sunlight and shadows are PERFECTLY exploited here. It makes Ridley Scott look like a rank amateur and that's saying a lot. The colors are so lush and textured. Every shot, every angle, every display is a work of art and good art. From the dream sequence that starts the movie, to the ending it is PERFECT. It's like touching boobs for the first time, you just don't want it to end and when it does you can finally start to breath again.

Now there are some clichés, like in the final boss fight, the shrink utters what I just knew he would, the I put you into this world and I can take you out. Some pop-culture references that were just rip-offs. But in the flood of action, that gets over the top, you barely notice it. But I did notice all the FREAKING product placements that were so blatant in your face Hi!-this-is-overkill-publicity, that it pissed me off at certain points. At one point, with the beer, you feel like they slipped in a TV commercial and you are none the wiser...but we are, Hollywood, we are.

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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