PyrolyticCarbon

The Island, supplied by LOVEFiLM DVD Rental, was nominated on The Movie Blog Readers Awards 2005 in the category of Worst Execution of the Best Plot, and for good reason too. The film may sound like a superb concept, but the realisation is pitifully poor and this DVD does nothing to help it along, neither do the ample talents of Ewan McGregor or Scarlett Johansson.

Movie: The film starts of really strongly, and promises much from its well crafted plot. The style is slightly removed from Michael Bay's typical blockbuster as we are treated to slower progression of characters and the questioning of McGregor as Lincoln Six-Echo against his reality.

Then, typically, things turn into a big Bay action fest with formulaic plot changes that you can see a mile off. Let me say that I have nothing against those movies because I actually really like The Rock and Armageddon, they're great fun. Yet when you have such a great futuristic plot filled with excellent possibilities, turning it into standard action fare seems quite a sad and easy path to take.

You see half way through the movie it turns into set pieces which are badly thought through and harshly edited. For instance, take the highway scene where Echo pushes train wheels off the back of a flatbed truck. Those would be train wheels for the magnetic trains that run without wheels that we saw a few times at the beginning of the movie or the fast car used in a high speed chase later in the movie is racing along one second and then the immediate scene after which is tracking the car shows the door wide open, raised in the air, as these doors do. What just happened there? Then there's the jet bike sequence, and we seen these bikes for well on half their screen time before you can actually see that there's a second person on the bike, mounted at the rear.

Typically the close cropped camera work, far too fast cuts, and harsh editing make these action sequences difficult to follow. Sure it's not as bad as some of the Bourne sequences, but this is tough to follow in places.

There's similar issues all the way through that make you think there have either been some serious continuity errors, someone hasn't been thinking of the universe in which the movie is set and checking all the story changes, there's been some harsh editing, or indeed all of the above.

There are some saving graces though, and I'm not talking McGregor's American accent, although the moment when he confronts his real self and he has a Scottish accent which he mimics is very amusing. No, Johannson fares very well here, as does Djimon Hounsou, let's just say they do the best with what they have. I mean how can you deal with lines such as "I like it with your tongue" in the middle of a romantic kissing scene? I get that they haven't kissed before, but it sounds corny as hell and comic.

Picture: 2.35:1 Anamorphic: The picture was sharp, although the colours were slightly drained and the contrast harsh throughout.

Audio: Dolby Digital 5.1: A good audio track, some great LFE during the action sequences, but a DTS on such an action film could have been better, that and some subtlety!

Extras: TV Making of Featurette, DVD-ROM Extras: I actually just thought that there was a single featurette on here which was extremely poor, so after a quick look I sent it back. However I'm now led to believe that there is a full audio commentary from Michael Bay hidden away on the PC DVD-Rom section.

Well I never saw it and it's not because I didn't try. I put the DVD into my PC and it attempted a straight install of its own player. Since I already have my own free player I cancelled it and attempted to access anything new on the disc - nothing was visible. Nowhere did I see the mention of the audio commentary now being enabled, perhaps I missed it, but if you're going to offer it only on the PC side don't force an install of your own software and make the features plainly visible.

Overall: A very poor movie with a botched up DVD offering. Hidden audio commentary, forcing install of it's own DVD software, is just not on. Poorly put together and a not very enjoyable movie at all.

Movie: The story is strong and filled with interesting characters, yet despite the breadth and depth of the story the characters are kept light and you don't really feel as though you do anything more than scratch the surface of them, which is a real shame as they they seem as though they could be given so much more life and reality with some more backstory.

There were a couple of moments that didn't do the film much justice, one was that some of the character voices had the usual anime style of being just a tad over acted, and the others, which are all too typical in anime and manga, cute animals and unusually annoying children. It feels as if the film is pulling between two genres when these sort of styles are brought in. On one hand they are trying to create an adult themed cartoon, and on the other you have voices and characters straight out of Pokemon.

This bothers me, because if they had managed to focus on a pure adult animation then this movie would have increased in estimation, but although these failings are not bad enough to really harm the film they do affect it. Still, with all this there's something that just takes your mind away from it all the time, the visuals, they are stunning.

The backgrounds to just about all of the scenes look fantastic, and some of the sequences were stunningly created and looking really beautiful to the eye. Careful consideration has been taken about where to place the viewer, and how to recreate the actual movement of a camera through the scenes. Nowhere is this more apparent than the opening scenes with the bike racing through the outside world, it's a wonderful piece of animation.

Picture: Widescreen 1.85:1 Anamorphic: Very sharp and clear picture, the colours tended to be duller due to the nature of the story, but when colours arrived they were strong. During the fog scene there was very little evidence of the grading effect you see in lower quality encoded DVDs and digital signals, it was very smooth and you had to really look to see this effect. Overall an excellent picture reproduction.

Audio: Dolby Digital 5.1, DTS: The DTS audio was utterly brilliant being delicate, crisp and clear. During any action sequences the audio was loud and bold and very spacious, travelling around the speakers with the action. The full effects of DTS were used with audio coming from all around you, which was helped by the thoughtful positioning of the camera in regards the action and therefore where the sound and movement would be coming from. There was a good use of silence too which heightened the actual sound effects when they arrived. The soundtrack was wonderfully chosen and matched the movie superbly, with the final scenes elevated by the chosen operatic piece which was quite stirring.

Extras: None.

Overall: Although there are a few more annoying aspects of anime creeping in here with some not so strong voice acting and childish animation, overall the movie is good. What really makes it is the fabulous animation combined with the excellently visualised camera movement. It truly is a feast for the eyes, and when the DTS audio is layered above it you're sucked into the world so easily. Yet for all those good points the story is left quite light and brushed over, especially with the lead characters who are hinted at being deeper than they really are. There was so much to explore here and yet it's been ignored. Definitely worth a viewing if you are a fan of such movies, otherwise you might find this visual feast a tad less satisfying.

Controversy around Munich has been apparent from its announcement, and the unusual move by Spielberg to not talk about it or pamper to the Press has raised expectation and the very controversy he has sought to avoid. Then we began to hear that some critics didn't like it, and that the movie was biased towards or against one viewpoint. As usual I approached this movie with an open mind, and my Scottish viewpoint.

The first thing to say is that this movie firmly belongs on the Schindler's List side of Spielbergs work and nowhere near the E.T. side. I'm sure you have guessed by now that it is a serious political drama, but by this I mean it is hard, harrowing and at times quite a brutal movie. The journey will bring you downwards, not upwards to a nice fluffy conclusion, and not even leave you with much hope. Its showing in the clear light of day how messed up, manipulative, blinded and cold human beings can be. Be warned, it's a tough movie and not an easy afternoon viewing.

One of the amazing things that Spielberg manages to attain in many of his movies is the level of authenticity. Nowhere is this more apparent in this movie with the style of filming, costume and the writing. Blending real footage with reconstructions which look as genuine as actual news footage, keeping costumes as in the period but without resorting to 70's cheese, using actual camera equipment and styles that represent those used at the time, all combine to give a harsh but very real look and feel to the movie.

That is one of the big positives of the film. It's extremely realistic and with that comes the tough and often brutal representations of events from history and the book the movie is based on. Nothing is sugar coated here for Hollywood audiences, and no better places is this shown than with the scenes of murder. From explosions to shootings, they are all portrayed openly and as they would be in real life. Fraught with tension, understated, and meeting death face on. If you are looking for an easy ride in this film, or some shock entertainment, then you are sorely mistaken.

I felt that this was quite surprising for Spielberg, even though he has tackled tough subjects in the past, this seems to push the representation of the darker side of reality even more. At times viewing the movie becomes almost uncomfortable to watch, but you're drawn to it like watching a reality show, or news footage.

Despite the subject matter there are still a few moments of traditional Spielberg creeping in. There's nothing that harms the movie, but they do illicit a groan and hurt the odd scene for me. One such moment is the where the Isreali and Palestinian argue over a radio station, and what brings them together is the compromise over American music.

This probably meant nothing when filming it, and the track was chosen because it was universally know and recognisable, and I really do hate looking for connections in other peoples work when there need not be. Yet it does certainly feel as if there is something being made of this moment, but it's twee and seemingly contrived. Thankfully, there are few moments like this, and you are returned to reality with a bang.

I have to say that I feel no bias in this film at all. Spielberg shows that all sides have their level of bloody mindedness and futility from Isreali to Palestinian, even the CIA and the KGB are shown as lost in their own types of hatred, self deception and self fulfilling agendas.

The acting is of the highest quality from all of the leads. Bana redeems his pitiful Hulk performance, and Craig shows us what a fine actor he is although definitely not a master of accents - this performance bodes well for Bond. Hinds provides another excellent performance which at times is quite chilling.

All these actors give top notch performances being strong, striking and intense. Craig, to some degree, but mainly Bana give the most emotionally charged and altogether confused performances which seem very human and with identifiable pain. Bana's slow change during the latter stages of the movie is particularly worth mentioning.

Hinds though, shouldn't be crowded out by these other actors. He brings perhaps the most grounded and real performance, and the moment of recognition of this actor when he first appeared on screen was a joy. I've seen him before and was struck by his performance, and this hits home again in Munich. His connection with Avner seems heartfelt, and his through the movie I was captivated by his character.

The movie does a great job of highlighting the futility of the ongoing and escalating acts of revenge, and how these slowly eat away at those involved, destroying who they once were. I say that thinking of all sides involved through the movie and not looking to either Isreali or Palestinian alone.

My understanding of the final events of the actual hostage taking in Munich does lay some blame on the handling of the attack on the terrorists. Yet there is no hint of this anywhere, and if I were to point any finger at this movie suggesting it was showing something or some group in an improper or inaccurate light it would be that very operation. It does not appear in the movie and indeed it portrays them as innocent victims.

However, this would have surely detracted from the belief of blame in the movie, and after all as Spielberg says, this is not a documentary it's a movie based on real events.

As I've said, this movie is tough, harsh and very realistic, resulting in a sometimes brutal portrayal of events. It's not easy watching by any means, but it is a very excellent and moving film.