The Island (1980)

Featured Audience Ratings

• Ken S

  
  It takes a good hour for this movie to finally reveal it's true colors as the 70's era Michael Caine fighting 18th century pirates movie that it is. And I'm sorry to report that it isn't nearly as cool as it sounds, mainly because Ritchie clearly can't direct… More
  It takes a good hour for this movie to finally reveal it's true colors as the 70's era Michael Caine fighting 18th century pirates movie that it is. And I'm sorry to report that it isn't nearly as cool as it sounds, mainly because Ritchie clearly can't direct traffic, let alone the action sequences in this film. Almost everyone of them is plagued with bad under-cranking (thats sped up action for those of you playing at home.) And while the film tries to walk the fine line of surreality, it constant plummets off the cliffs on silliness. In one of the earlier scenes in the movie, Michal Caine is guilt-ed into buying his son a handgun, by his son. If you feel thats a slightly odd thing to happen, well then you are in for a treat. Because the strangeness keeps on keeping on. There a couple of cool scenes. The William Tell-esque scene is fun, the storming of a yuppie yacht is pretty cool too. But instead of concentrating on the awesomeness of Caine fighting pirates, it instead concentrates on Caine's son becoming a pirate. the picture ends up feeling like a tarted up version of Hook with a bit of nudity. That said, I must repeat. Michael Caine fights pirates (for about 30 minutes)

• A.D. V

  
  Kinda corny yet mostly charming adventure/thriller with Caine delivering his occasional deadpan humor as only he can. Other than a really terrible scene involving a would-be Bruce Lee the film is pretty cringe free considering it's a 1980 Universal film.

• Eric S

  
  I haven't seen this film since I was a kid, and it holds up quite well. The tale is based on a Peter Benchley(Jaws) novel, and tells the story of an inquisitive reporter who flys to the Caribbean to investigate mysterious ocean disappearances. Blair Maynard's(Michael Caine)… More
  I haven't seen this film since I was a kid, and it holds up quite well. The tale is based on a Peter Benchley(Jaws) novel, and tells the story of an inquisitive reporter who flys to the Caribbean to investigate mysterious ocean disappearances. Blair Maynard's(Michael Caine) plane goes down in a questionable area where he and his son are stranded on some remote island. They are soon to be captured by realistic pirates who inflict various tortures on them forcing Maynard to devise an escape that seems somewhat impossible. The brilliant Ennio Morricone composed the score which adds to the film's eerie mood of island purgatory

• Lee K

  
  Showing my son a different old school movie from my past every night of the march break and tonight's film was The Island starring Michael Caine ia movie i saw for the first time roughly when i was 12 myself. Re watching this film anytime i have seen it always seems to hook my… More
  Showing my son a different old school movie from my past every night of the march break and tonight's film was The Island starring Michael Caine ia movie i saw for the first time roughly when i was 12 myself. Re watching this film anytime i have seen it always seems to hook my interest as one thing i will say for movies of that decade they may have been a tad cheesy, however at least they were original. Michael Caine portrays a reporter who wants to head down to Florida to write the big story on several vessels that had mysteriously dissapeared around the Bermuda Triangle. He is soon to find out his ex wife has just dumped their son on him without any notice so he promises a trip to Disneyworld and takes him along. Upon arriving they are told by a fisherman the exact location of the last boats and crew to go missing so they charter a plane and head out. They meet up with a british fellow who convinces Michael Caine to take his son fishing, even lending him a boat to charter. Un-beknowest to them the adventure they were about to partake in. They are taken hostage by a band of Buccanneers (18th century pirate wannabees) Caine spends the rest of the film trying to get his know brainwashed son off the island. I dug this movie and always have majorally due to the fact of it's originaility something that is definatly lacking in Hollyweird these days!!!