Looking Back at The Island (2005)

Looking back at 2005’s The Island starring Ewan McGregor and Scarlett Johansson

May 4, 2024

2–3 minutes

Alex Kurtzman, Caspian Tredwell-Owen, Djimon Hounsou, Ewan McGregor, Jordan Two Delta, Lincoln Six Echo, Michael Bay, Roberto Orci, Scarlett Johansson, Steve Buscemi, The Island, The Island 2005, The Island Film, The Island Movie

The Island is an American Sci-fi movie directed and co-produced by Michael Bay. The movie’s plot, inspired by Caspian Tredwell-Owen’s story, was written by Alex Kurtzman alongside Roberto Orci.

The Island features big names, including Ewan McGregor, Djimon Hounsou, Steve Buscemi, amongst others. McGregor is the movie’s main character and plays Lincoln Six Echo, besides Scarlett Johansson, who plays Jordan Two Delta.

The Two Major Halves of The Island

The Island has two major parts, one showing a creepy sci-fi parable and the other depicting a high-tech action picture. During the first half, characters wear identical uniforms in a futuristic world and are seen to appear twice every day before big-screen TVs for the lottery. Lincoln Six Echo is also seen taking part in the lottery across different scenes in the movie.

Michael Bay‘s use of gambling themes to enrich his plot isn’t new in the movie industry. Plus, with technology rapidly advancing and the gambling industry evolving alongside, virtual casinos have emerged and continue to increase in popularity because of the convenience of accessing games like online slingo. As such, just like Bay, we’re likely to see more creators not only incorporate gambling in physical spaces but also include scenes where characters access different gambling categories through online platforms.

In the second half of the movie’s plot, we see Lincoln Six Echo and Jordan Two Delta moving away from the futuristic world. The scene is breathtaking as these two characters are chased by train, plane, automobile, and helicopter. Although the ending of this second part of the movie satisfies the requirements of that section of the storyline, Bay uses suspense to leave some questions unanswered.

Filming and Reception

Principal filming for The Island began towards the end of 2004 and took place across different places, with Michigan Central Station being one of the primary locations. Several ruined buildings in Rhyolite, Nevada, are featured in the movie as places where Jordan and Lincoln slept after leaving the subterranean compound. Other parts of the film were shot in Detroit and Coachella Valley in California.

Source: Pexels

Despite its production budget of $126 million, The Island didn’t gross as much as anticipated. Some commentators, like Edward Jay Epstein, explained that the movie’s less reception was due to poor publicity. According to several research polls, a good percentage of the target audience had little awareness of its impending release, and the trailers didn’t clearly depict the film’s plot.

During its opening weekend, The Island garnered over $12 million in more than 3,000 theatres. Later, it grossed over $35 million in the domestic markets and about $127 million globally, resulting in a total gross of more than $162 million. Although The Island didn’t receive much reception, it won one award (2005 Hollywood Film Awards) and received six nominations. These include the 2006 Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror, Motion Picture Sound Editors, and Golden Schmoes Awards, among others.

In closing, and despite the fact The Island didn’t penetrate as many markets, its considerable success might be attributed to its captivating scenes and engaging cast performances. And just like Epstein noted, beyond good directing, immersive storylines and performances, creators should pay attention to their marketing campaigns to ensure a film’s success.