The Island Blu-ray offers decent video and solid audio, but overall it's a mediocre Blu-ray release
David Warner leads a band of modern day pirates who raid yachts and sail boats of people on vacation out in the Caribbean. Michael Caine is a reporter who goes out there with his son to investigate the mystery of the disappearing boats. He runs across the band of raiders and they decide to induct them into their tribe.
In cinema parlance, "Summer" doesn't always mean "big." Director Michael Ritchie's (Fletch) The Island is the Summer blockbuster that wasn't, a
forgettable 1980 picture about high seas pirates laying low in a tropical paradise when they are not looting ships and who discover two very specific
captives to
impregnate their
women and lead them to glory in future generations. The film dabbles around in a few decent ideas -- namely the ease with which the pirates
brainwash Michael Caine's character's son into believing that he's more than an everyday American kid -- but ultimately fails to elicit much of a
response. The picture lacks dramatic muscle, struggles to maintain a pace, fails to construct memorable characters, and never quite finds that perfect
rhythm for its action. It's not a poor film by an stretch of the imagination, but The Island lacks just that -- imagination -- and seems content
to simply flail about in the water for two hours of passably dull, forgettable cinema that does nothing well nor anything poorly.
Dangerous.
Investigative reporter Blair Maynard (Michael Caine, Harry Brown) finds himself interested in the story of vanished ships
and hundreds
of lost souls in the Caribbean. He and his preteen son Justin (Jeffrey Frank) -- an expert marksman -- travel to the tiny isle known as "Navidad"
where they begin an adventure that will change their lives. It doesn't take them long to figure out exactly what's happening. They're kidnapped by
a band of pirates that, for generations, has survived by looting vessels and killing all witnesses. They're led by the mysterious John David Nau (David
Warner, Titanic) who, upon learning that Blair and his son may be kin to the
famed
Maynard who killed the pirate Blackbeard, allows father and son to live. Blair is forced to procreate with a local, while John David takes Justin under
his
wing, convinces him of his heritage, and promises him a bright future in the pirate ranks. Blair must battle alone to save his life, and that of his son,
from an uncertain and troubling future.
There are an awful lot of films that could serve as the proverbial dictionary definition of "uninspired," and The Island is one of them. It's a
hard
midline movie, an insipid and sometimes tedious affair that never realizes even the modest potential of its premise. The film falters in many ways,
but
it's the equal bland-on-bland force that defines the main conflict that really does the movie in. The forgettable protagonists are offset by equally
dreary
protagonists. Michael Caine's Blair Maynard never quite finds the "everyman" sort of Nick Nolte in Cape Fear hero (or antihero, as one might argue) that the film
desperately needs and tries to
produce. On the flip side, the villains are largely boring and poorly constructed. The ragtag bunch finds little dramatic value and emotes even less of
an
intimidation factor. Sure their numbers are many, their looks scruffy, their violence bloody, and their ideals and morals suitably squashed all in the
name of their
dastardly
and criminal pursuits, but John David Nau and gang fail to even approach the stuff of classic screen villains who emit an air of chilly coldheartedness
and
engender an immediate sense of terror at their mere screen presence. The Island's character roster hurts it considerably, and its
wishy-washy
structure and technical merits don't do it many favors, either.
Like its character roster fails to elicit much of an emotional response, The Island's technical merits also face similar challenges and
shortcomings. The picture
lacks the polish and flow of superior cinema fare; the roughness around its edges is just that -- ungainly roughness -- rather than deliberate grit or
sharp
charm. The movie lingers on a bit too much and never finds a comfortable pacing, whether in more quiet and contemplative dialogue scenes
between captors and captives or in the various high-seas action segments that play on varied scales of scope and excitement. The picture does
stage its biggest boarding sequence nicely, even as it devolves into a scene with a silly wannabe Kung Fu fighter warding off pirates as long as he
can, doing his best faux Bruce Lee interpretation -- physical and audible both. When the movie's not hamming it up, it does little more than show
Michael Caine's character attempting escape, either by formulating or implementing a plan of action (picking the four-digit lock that holds together
his shackles, spying a flare gun, and so on) only to be returned to his captors so the film can reach its trigger happy climax.
After a rather dismal open in which title colors bleed and the image appears worn down and dim, The Island reveals a rather pleasing and
consistent but not perfect high definition transfer. The transfer produces bright, bold colors in daytime scenes, a little worn perhaps and certainly not
with the sort of balance and accuracy enjoyed by newer, more polished productions. Nighttime affairs, of course, hide colors where applicable but the
transfer does fluctuate a bit with its black levels, which appear across a rather wide spectrum of appearances, from deep and natural to washed out and
perhaps even
a touch red and purple whether in nighttime backdrops or on dark business suits and furnishings. Additionally, many darker scenes are awash in
unsightly noise. Details are adequate; the image benefits more from the
uptick in resolution than anything else. There are no strikingly complex textures to be seen, for the most part. Some edges go a bit soft and the image
sometimes appears to be the victim of light noise reduction. However, grain does remain; it spikes here and there and sometimes goes practically
invisible from normal viewing distances. All told, this is a serviceable catalogue image, one that's not particularly offensive but, on the other side of the
ledger, hardly memorable.
The Island's DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtrack proves a little more fulfilling than the merely passable transfer. There are some nice
spacial elements throughout, whether a wavy radio broadcast that lingers off to the sides in one early shot or the general din of pirate chaos as ships are
boarded, goods are swindled, and people are killed. The surrounds are used to good effect, at times, and the track makes use of strong directional
elements, also only at times. Maynard's office place din doesn't stretch beyond a rather puny front-side effort, but big action scenes enjoy more
pronounced and
invigorating surround and multidirectional elements. A gun range segment doesn't inspire the sonic senses, but heavier blasts on the island do. Though
there are certainly some wishy-washy contrasts, the track's more aggressive elements usually dominate when necessary, particularly during the most
intensive moments in the final act and at the big finale. Even gentle rain and lingering thunder claps are pleasantly natural and immersive. Most
musical cues seem a bit sharp, but the heavy notes and aggressive spacing and volume make for a satisfying overall presentation. Dialogue is clear and
accurate up the middle. While not a classic track, The Island's lossless presentation serves the movie quite well.
The Island is innocent fun that doesn't serve a purpose beyond general entertainment, but not every film need leave audiences pondering life's
greatest mysteries. It could
have been better, could have been worse, but cinema is full of such unremarkable pictures, which isn't the worst company for a movie of this
sort. The Island just can't ever piece together its characters or actions or drama, leaving it all a piecemeal, globular entity that fits well enough
together but never truly engages its audience beyond the boundaries of cinema tedium. Shout! Factory's Blu-ray release of The Island features
acceptable video and solid audio. No supplements that can't be found by going to YouTube are included. Rent it.
Shout! Factory will be releasing Death Valley and The Island on Blu-ray later this year. Each cult horror films will be brought to stores in a BD/DVD Combo pack and will make its debut on Blu-ray December 11th.
Independent distributors Shout Factory have revealed that they will release combo pack editions of Michael Ritchie's The Island (1980), starring Michael Caine, David Warner and Angela Punch McGregor, and Dick Richards' Death Valley (1982), starring Paul Le Mat, ...
