Patman

Oh, also, I guess we should factor in the Regal theater decision to only show this film on screen per Regal theater (I think Paramount or Dreamworks pissed Regal off).

At the 7:30 showing I attended last night at a Regal theater, it was packed, but it was only showing on that one screen.

outcastja

Good point, the big Regal theaters around my area isn't even showing it.

Jericho

Can't say I can pinpoint what went wrong box office wise. Bay's gotten some terrible reviews in the past, but has produced plenty of good earners, Armageddon, Pearl Harbor, Bad Boys 2...

One could blame the stars of the film, but plenty of films make tons of cash without stars. I guess the concept was just not interesting, although I find that a bit surprising.

BJacks

I think a lot of people just aren't sure what the concept IS. Dreamworks' marketing dept took deep pains to avoid spoiling the plot for audiences, but unfortunately, in doing that was fairly vague in their advertising. That's one of the main reasons I think word of mouth may bump these numbers up a lot, but we shall see.

Dabaomb

hey Patman, just curious but do you see every major release every week? Cuz you have a review for every major release.

Now, there's nothing wrong with that cuz I too like to see many movies on the big screen.

But, do you pay for every movie? Or do you movie hop? Just curious as to how you see so many movies.

fumanstan

Wow, i didn't even realize that was the case! I checked my movie listings, and it currently isn't playing on ANY of the Regal theaters by me, which is pretty much all there is here in Irvine. At least 4 theaters and none of them are showing The Island, including the large 21 screen location with IMAX.

Theater counts are still 3,122 accord to BoxOfficeMojo too. Poop.

darkside

I hate most Michael Bay movies (like the Rock) and I hated House of 1000 Corpses, but I went and watched both The Island and Devil's Rejects the past two days.

I'm surprised to say I enjoyed both films. The Island was much better than I expected (had all the explosions I was counting on in a Bay film though), but probably not a DVD purchase down the road. BTW, it had a lot of endings. Editor needed to clean that up a bit as I thought I was watching Return of the King for a minute. However, I have a bit more faith that maybe without Bruckheimer, Bay can become a solid director. This was still a popcorn film at heart, but it was a much more enjoyable one than most.

Devil's Rejects which belongs in another thread obviously is a definite DVD purchase.

Anyhow my one comment about the Island is this. Did the writer of Parts: The Clonus Horror get a writing credit for this film? I have seen the MST3K episode many times and this is 50%-60% remake of that film. Granted with a real budget and better dialog. There were several scenes that I'm sure were taken almost directly from Clonus including the basic idea of the film. I'm going to read back through the thread, but I haven't seen it mentioned yet.

As far as the film bombing. I think Bay is paying the price finally for Pearl Harbor and Bad Boys II. Eventually you get a reputation as a crap director and that gets hard to shake even if you put out a decent film.

sinister

bad boys 2 was a good summer action film. it had one of the top 5 car chase scenes. now for pearl harbor, yeah that sucked a fat one. when it comes to pure action, bay is the best.

Mike Lowrey

I'm watching a "Making of" thing on HBO right now and it looks like The Island is THX 1138 meets Logan's Run meets Bad Boys II meets Minority Report.

Mr. Salty

I agree completely and suspect that may be exactly the case with "The Island." Bay has his fans who will lap up everything he does, but his reputation is dimishing with a lot of people after "Pearl Harbor."

While I generally liked "The Island" and will probably buy the DVD, it was awfully derivitive. I would have had a lot more respect if DreamWorks had just called it a remake of "Logan's Run."

animalmystic

I love most Bay movies (except Pearl Harbor I loathed) When I go in I don't expect much, I expect explosions, car chases, fancy camera work, nothing more. If I wanted quality I would see something else, moves are about having fun, and this is a fun movie.

I liked the Island, as mentioned it borrows from Monority Report, Jedi, Gattaca ect ect.

It also borrowed from Heat. Guys in the street with assualt rifles wearing hockey type masks firing at the other characters with loads of people around.

I enjoyed it, the product placement was annoying.

Not particularally strong performances from Scarlett or Ewan, Bean is awesome as usual, but as mentioned has been playing the same role for the past 10 years.

3/5






Scarlett I love you baby, you looked soooo fine in the movie, marry me?

hapgilmore

To blame the disappointing box office on Bay is foolish. The movie flopped because there are no A-list stars in the cast. If Tom Cruise would have played Ewan's roll, this would have opened with at least 40 mil. Most of the general movie going public don't know directors by name, aside from Spielberg and a couple others. Michael Bay is NOT that famous of a director, outside of film discussion message boards. I'm sure 98 percent of the country didn't say to themselves "hey, this is directed by Michael Bay, he sucks!"

jaeufraser

This is very true. Sometiems people do overestimate the pulling power of a director. Though I don't think the actors alone were the problem, though they definately did little to help the box office. It is possible to have a success without box office stars, but obviously this film with this concept with this marketing campaign didn't work.

scott shelton

I think you would be very surprised just how well known Bay is.

jaeufraser

If you say "you know, the guy who made Armageddon and The Rock" yes, they would. Those happen to be fairly popular films.

If you say "Michael Bay," I'm pretty sure most people wouldn't know who he is. Outside of Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, and perhaps Tarantino, largely because he acts and is a public figure, most people couldn't pick out a director by name if you paid them.

B.A.

I liked it. ***1/2 out of *****. Ewan was great (and the rest of the cast did a fine job, too). Scarlett looked most excellent.

I thought it was a fun movie that moved along nicely. Can't wait to see how good it will look on my own television.

My only complaints w/ Bay - enough w/ the slow-mo already and get someone else to do your music.

hapgilmore

agreed

pdinosaur

agreed.

while some may make the case that ewan mcgregor is an A list star, scarlet johansson is most definitely NOT. dvdtalkers may adore her luscious ____, but she really hasn't been in a movie of this kind before.

i imagine this movie was really destined to fail. it was scheduled bad, didn't get wonderful reviews, didn't have a great cast that appeals to the masses, and probably didn't present that compelling a story. it's going to do pretty badly i imagine and hopefully demonstrate to scarlett she needs to rethink her career's direction.

jaeufraser

Well, it's not like she has a slate of big budget action movies lined up. She's got a Woody Allen movie, a Brian De Palma adaptation of The Black Dahlia, and a Brian Levinson drama. I don't think her career is going to hurt that much off this one film nor that she needs to really change any of her future products. I doubt she was really thinking about doing a lot of action films anyway. She's a girl after all.

pdinosaur

she needs to get out there. not sure if woody allen is the way to get out there anymore. maybe the others'll work out. might scarlett need to duke it out with emily watson? lol.

MasterCXtreme

For some reason... now that it's tanked... I wanna see it.

jaeufraser

Well, I suppose if her plan is to try and be a major box office mega star. truth be told, she's probably made more then enough money to last her life. And will continue to do so. Not every actor needs to be a top lining, mega budget number one grossing box office star. For women, that's a lot harder and often times pegs you into playing the same types of roles over and over.\

Scarlett is doing excellent in her career and looks to have good stuff ahead. Doing a Woody Allen movie might not give you a massive paycheck, but it never hurts your career and usually offers a good acting opportunity.

chanster

Just saw it. Kinda liked it actually. The setup is good, and given the state of movies nowadays, all I ask for is a decent setup for the big booms/

joeydaninja

I know the feeling.

Grubert

So, how did you like Gigli?