Plan your escape.
Rating: 7/10
Running Time: 136 minutes
US Certificate: PG-13 UK Certificate: 12A
Lincoln Six Echo (Ewan McGregor) is a man plagued by more questions than answers. Why does he have such a silly name? Whats the real reason that he cant go outside? And why is it that he and everyone else around him have to wear white all the time? Of course, the answer to that last question is obvious: its because if some people were allowed to wear red, it would take just one accident in the laundry room to leave the whole lot of them dressed from head to toe in an embarrassing shade of pink. But, as hes about to discover, the answers to his other questions are a little more complicated.
Borrowing heavily from the likes of THX 1138 and Logans Run, Michael Bays latest attempt at blustering his way to the top of the box office charts wont scoop any prizes for originality, but its a fun ride regardless. Set in a near-future where the rich and famous pay big bucks to have clones of themselves bred for insurance purposes, its a brainless and predictable yet still undeniably enjoyable mish-mash of sci-fi and action.
The sci-fi bit comes at the start when Lincoln and his strictly non-contact ladyfriend Jordan Two Delta (Scarlett Johansson) begin to question the merits of spending all day long hoping to be plonked on a utopian island which may or may not exist in the first place. Then, halfway through, its time for the tenuous scientific pretence to make way for what Bay really wants to show us: lots of explosions, high speed chases, and general shots of our two stars running around a lot.
If it all sounds a bit daft, its because it undoubtedly is, but its also a real guilty pleasure and works surprisingly well. The action sequences are the best Ive seen on the big screen for a couple of years, and both McGregor and Johansson do credible jobs of getting us to buy into their flimsily-written characters. Sure, the plot has its fair share of moments thatll have entire theatre audiences simultaneously lifting one eyebrow, but if you allow yourself to let go of your intelligence for just long enough to get into it, youre guaranteed a good time. Who needs new ideas, eh?
It's Got: Ewan McGregor, a Scottish actor, undertaking the tricky task of playing a bloke with a dodgy American accent who has to master a dodgy Scottish one. Youll understand what I mean when you see it.
It Needs: To ditch the ridiculous moment where Johansson catches a glimpse of those Calvin Klein ads she appears in back here in the real world. Think about it for even a couple of minutes and youll realise that, unless shes meant to be playing her self (which shes not), it just doesnt make much sense.
Summary
Its loud, proud, and moves at a hundred miles an hour and its also the most mindlessly enjoyable flick of 2005. Check your brain cells at the theatre door and enjoy a trip to The Island.