Billy Cox
2nd June 2007, 01:05 AM (01:05)
If you are a fan of futuristic movies, even the lousy ones, you'll like this one. It borrows from The Matrix, Total Recall, Blade Runner, and even Star Trek 6.
In the future (2019), people live in a highly regimented society in which all human activity is monitored and regulated. A biological catastrophe has occurred and the people in this (indoor) society are the lucky survivors...or so they think they are.
The one ray of hope is the daily lottery in which a lucky person gets to move to 'the island' - an uncontaminated paradise.
The problem comes when the main character (Lincoln 6 Echo) keeps having nightmares that cause him to question the nature of his existence.
As you may suspect, his world is far different than what meets the eye. Residents of this 'institute' are clones of people living in the real world and the sole purpose of their existence is to incubate spare body parts until their 'sponsor' has need of them. The sponsor's need for body parts coincides with his or her unfortunate clone winning the lottery. The 'island' is an operating table in which vital organs are removed and the person dies.
As far as storytelling goes, the plot is a disaster. The story's premise has possibilities, but it is squandered by terrible acting, seemingly pointless chase scenes, and a never-ending supply of nameless bad guys to kill in interesting ways. (remember the Stallone flick entitled 'Cobra'?)
The thing that really kills this movie is the ending, or more accurately the delay thereof. The story shows all the signs of laying the groundwork for a sequel, but then the producers cram the would-be story for the sequel in an additional 25 minutes of screen time. The main characters escape, but it just woudn't be right for them to leave all those poor suckers at the institute to eventually be harvested.
Didn't the producers see 2001 A Space Odyssey, or The Terminator, or even Star Wars??? Why did they think that they had to tie up every question before the credits could roll?
Verdict: It's an interesting movie to watch; the plot its moments...but overall it's a train wreck.
In the future (2019), people live in a highly regimented society in which all human activity is monitored and regulated. A biological catastrophe has occurred and the people in this (indoor) society are the lucky survivors...or so they think they are.
The one ray of hope is the daily lottery in which a lucky person gets to move to 'the island' - an uncontaminated paradise.
The problem comes when the main character (Lincoln 6 Echo) keeps having nightmares that cause him to question the nature of his existence.
As you may suspect, his world is far different than what meets the eye. Residents of this 'institute' are clones of people living in the real world and the sole purpose of their existence is to incubate spare body parts until their 'sponsor' has need of them. The sponsor's need for body parts coincides with his or her unfortunate clone winning the lottery. The 'island' is an operating table in which vital organs are removed and the person dies.
As far as storytelling goes, the plot is a disaster. The story's premise has possibilities, but it is squandered by terrible acting, seemingly pointless chase scenes, and a never-ending supply of nameless bad guys to kill in interesting ways. (remember the Stallone flick entitled 'Cobra'?)
The thing that really kills this movie is the ending, or more accurately the delay thereof. The story shows all the signs of laying the groundwork for a sequel, but then the producers cram the would-be story for the sequel in an additional 25 minutes of screen time. The main characters escape, but it just woudn't be right for them to leave all those poor suckers at the institute to eventually be harvested.
Didn't the producers see 2001 A Space Odyssey, or The Terminator, or even Star Wars??? Why did they think that they had to tie up every question before the credits could roll?
Verdict: It's an interesting movie to watch; the plot its moments...but overall it's a train wreck.