Nonureva Really Surprised!

Animenter There are women in the film, but none has anything you could call a personality.

Dirtylogy It's funny, it's tense, it features two great performances from two actors and the director expertly creates a web of odd tension where you actually don't know what is happening for the majority of the run time.

Billy Ollie Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

Woodyanders Journalist Blair Maynard (an admirably since performance by Michael Caine) and his bratty son Justin (the supremely annoying and unlikable Jeffrey Frank) stumble across a vicious gang of inbred modern-day pirates led by the ruthless John David Nau (David Warner in fine sinister form) living on a remote Caribbean island.Director Michael Ritchie, working from an absurd script by Peter Benchley, treats the delightfully bonkers and preposterous premise with general misguided seriousness while also delivering several jolting bits of nasty gore and inspired moments of dark humor (the sidesplitting highlight occurs when one guy on a schooner tries to fend off the pirates by using karate against them!). The cast play the loopy material with commendable conviction: Angela Punch McGregor keeps her dignity as feisty token fertile female Beth, Frank Middlemass contributes a witty turn as sarcastic and misanthropic anthropologist Windsor, Dudley Sutton has a ball as the unhinged Dr. Brazil, and Brad Sullivan pops up in a funny small part as low-rent airplane pilot Stark. Henri Decae's lush widescreen cinematography provides an impressive sumptuous look. Ennio Morricone's jaunty and rousing score hits the stirring spot. A gloriously ludicrous pip.

peteryac I haven't seen the whole film BUT...I saw David Warner a few years back talking to a bunch of people and he ABSOLUTELY REFUSED- very strongly!- to talk about THE ISLAND! Does anybody know what went wrong on this film? I wonder what Michael Caine thinks about it?I saw about five minutes on TV once and it looked somewhere between awful (considering the talents involved) or intentionally humorous + engagingly bizarre.I've always thought that Michael Ritchie was a criminally underrated director of comedies that were both unique and reliably funny (Survivors, Couch Trip). He seemed to have a track record for working well with great actors. Again, what went wrong?-Dr. Paybaragon

ersinkdotcom It is hard to believe "The Island" did not do well when it came out three decades ago. You would think that audiences would have clamored to see it after the huge successes of "Jaws" and "The Deep," which was author Peter Benchley's other big screen adaptations.Investigative reporter Blair Maynard (Michael Caine) heads to the Caribbean with his son (Jeff Frank) to solve the mystery of disappearing boats, their crews, and passengers. He is obsessed with debunking the myths surrounding what many call "the Bermuda Triangle." During his search for the truth, Blair and his son are apprehended by marauding pirates. They take the two to their island where they are still living life as centuries-old buccaneers. Blair must find a way to escape the island and save his brainwashed son from the pirates and their leader (David Warner).I imagine the movie version of "The Island" can be trusted as what Peter Benchley wanted viewers to see since he wrote the screenplay. The film moves along at a nice pace and establishes its characters strongly. It does a good job of building up to its climax even if the ending does feel abrupt.Director Michael Ritchie did a great job capturing the beautiful locations used to make the film. Everything from the tattered clothing of the pirates to the natural settings evokes a sense of authenticity. His knack for timing shines through in particular scenes with suspenseful build-ups. Richard A. Harris's editing gives viewers just enough of shockingly brutal scenes to induce a queasy feeling in the stomach of viewers who aren't regular watchers of gory genre films.Michael Caine does his usual wonderful job portraying Blair Maynard. He keeps Maynard balancing desperately between calm and frenzy as he sees how the pirates live and what they plan to do to his son. Jeff Frank is convincing in his role of Caine's son, Justin Maynard. He might possibly have the toughest role in the film. He has to convince the audience he is a true convert and has become a buccaneer. David Warner is perfect as the reserved-yet-volatile leader of the pirates."The Island" is an unnerving suspense thriller which holds just enough violence and gore to please horror and slasher fans. I recommend it for viewers who enjoyed "The Wicker Tree" and Benchley's "The Deep." Although it is not perfect, this is a film that deserves more recognition than it received in its initial release.

tomgillespie2002 Oh, Peter Benchley, did you ever write a narrative that didn't involve the ocean in some manner? Well, no! After the huge success of his fishy saga, Jaws (both book and the massively superior film), his output was generic to say the least. The Deep (1977) was a story of deep sea divers, Hunters of the Reef (1978), is self-explanatory, and The Beast (1996), also incredibly obvious. And here, The Island, is a story of the high seas, of quasi-seventeenth century pirates, living in obscurity in modern-day Bahamas. A promising opening sees a crew of boat-dwellers being attacked, with all the gruesome and graphic horror of axes plunging into heads (reminiscent of the opening of John Carpenter's The Fog (1980 - Review #268) - but without the supernatural elements).The opening sequence turns out to be a spate of mysterious "boat" disappearances, much like the Bermuda triangle enigma. Blair Maynard (Michael Caine), a New York journalist (of "Limey" origin), sets out for the island of Navidad with his son Justin (Jeffrey Frank). After a dramatic entrance to the island, they charter a boat for a father-son fishing trip, where they are kidnapped by pirates, headed by John (the always watchable David Warner). The son is bizarrely indoctrinated into the gang immediately, and he becomes instantly suspicious of his father (?). Did daddy not take you to Disneyland? Typical civilised children!It's a pretty banal affair that becomes tiresome and predictable. Warner does bring his usual charm to the screen, but even he struggles with a tedious script. His pirate gang is littered with familiar faces (Dudley Sutton, Frank Middlemass, Don Henderson), and there are even some relatively humorous dialogue. For example, after the boarding of a boat, the female pirate, Beth (Angela Punch McGregor), asks what the white powder on the floor is. Blair answers: "It's medicine called cocaine." Beth: "What does it cure?" Blair: "Insecurity." However, this does not save a dubious affair, despite some competent direction from Michael Ritchie, who had previously worked on The Candidate (1972).www.the-wrath-of-blog.blogspot.com