Cinecast Mailbag (7/28)

In today's mailbag, listeners defend "The Island" ...

On Cinecast #23, I "reviewed" Michael Bay's "The Island." Adam and I didn't really give it the typical Cinecast treatment (i.e., BRILLIANT, thoughtful, critical consideration). Neither of us was really curious to see what Bay had to say about human cloning, but due to considerable listener interest, we decided that one of us ought to make the effort. I didn't so much review the film as I did rant for two minutes about what I considered the movie's utter lack of redeemable qualities.

I hope it's clear by now to regular Cinecast listeners that I take no pleasure in being disappointed by movies. Yes, I went into "The Island" with lowered expectations (who didn't?), but I also went in with the sincere hope that I would be entertained. I wasn't. I thought the movie was loud and dumb and cynical and had not a shred of wit or intelligence. And I stand by that opinion. But like all the films Adam and I review on Cinecast, "The Island" deserves recognition for those things that it gets right (or partially right ... or maybe there's at least one decent performance ...), and I should have been more diplomatic in my analysis.

I asked listeners who had seen the film -- particularly those who liked it -- to e-mail me and share their thoughts. Consensus from those that have written seems to be that I took Bay's film too seriously and that I missed the boat on a fun, somewhat thought-provoking summer popcorn flick. Here's one:

Seems like you were looking for someone who enjoyed "The Island," and I suppose I'm guilty. I was taken for the ride from the very beginning. While the movie was a giant Michelob, Puma and Mack Truck commercial, I still found myself having fun watching this summer flick. Even though the plot had its share of implausibilities and holes, I liked the characters, felt sorry for the ones who died, happy for those that escaped, and enjoyed the now-typical Michael Bay explosions and chases. And although the filmmaking offered nothing refreshing or original, I liked the ideas the film brought up (cloning as a business) and the over-the-top chases. -- Alex Hengen

Listener David Seybert has a provocative suggestion for what he considers Michael Bay's proven movie-making skill set:

While in a movie like "The Island" Bay's style seems like a frontal assault, it got me to wondering where (his) frantic style might be better served. I decided that comic book movies would be perfect. Imagine Bay directing "Fantastic Four" and you can easily picture a high energy, plot-be-damned visual extravaganza that would thrill comic fans and regular moviegoers alike. In fact, let Bay handle any disappointing comic movie adaptation of recent years, (Daredevil, Punisher, Electra, etc.) and I'll wager the results would be spectacular.

I think I'd much rather have "Batman Begins" director Christopher Nolan handling comic book adaptations, but David has a point. If Michael Bay is going to keep making films -- and, really, is there any point pretending that he's going to stop? -- maybe it's best to keep him away from the high concept ("The Island") and the historical ("Pearl Harbor"), and assign him truly mindless action movies where his strengths are assets.