On I List of Movie Reviews

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The Island (1970)

Rate: 7
Viewed: 5/20

Island
5/20: If you hate Michael Caine for selling himself out to appear in Jaws: The Revenge, you'll like him better for taking the chance on The Island.

Based on Jaws author Peter Benchley's eponymous novel, The Island starts off well with many witty lines. Then, about a half hour into it, things begin to change for the worse.

At that point, I thought Michael Ritchie may have sabotaged the film, but there's a nice recovery afterwards. Then, the twist starts to make sense, despite the weird language, and from thereon, I'm with the characters all the way to the end. Overall, The Island is a well-done movie that reminds me of Treasure Island. The bad guys are meaner than the Smokers from Waterworld. They're pirates in the truest sense.

Now, I can't forgive the boy; he did kill the guy on purpose, right in the bull's eye of his forehead. When the Maynards get home, the kid is going to develop psychological issues that will remain with him for the rest of his life, so the father will have to be prepared for it.

The acting is pretty good. Michael Caine is the star of the show and may have signed up for the project so he can pull off The Wild Bunch stunt which is fun to watch. David Warner is the king of the baddies, and he's not bad at all but is perhaps a bit too normal. Besides, I'm surprised to see his thin body frame. Jeffrey Frank, the boy, made his motion picture debut and then did one more film before disappearing completely. I wonder what happened since he showed a good rapport with Michael Caine and had some talent.

All in all, buoyed by the beautiful water photography around the islands of Antigua and Abaco, The Island is a strange film that'll reward the patient, open-minded viewers.