The Island

I recently received a personalized invitation to attend a writing workshop entitled "Deconstructing the Contemporary Screenplay". While I appreciate such invites I made it know, as reply, I would not attend if I had to pay to attend. To which came the reply from the instructor of the workshop: All right. You may attend for free, since I would like it very much if you did.

So I attended this particular workshop, and learned one or two things about screenwriting, along with confirmation of suspicions and opinions long held: The Hollywood Machine is circling the great drain of oblivion, and there does not seem to be a savior coming along any time soon.

There are reasons for this certain demise--far too many to list here. But in a nutshell it goes to one thing. The one thing I have said time and again that is not only needed but must be: A good story told well.

I am an optimist, so I believe all is not lost with regards to the Hollywood Machine. I believe there are a few remaining talents able to tell a good story. My concern is with how they will do the needed job, and how often they can do it before they give over to failure as perpetuated by the Hollywood Machine. After all, good things take time.

Take as example of this prevailing concern Michael Bay's latest flick, "The Island".

For the record, "The Island" is a remake of a far superior movie. But given the original was hardly a brilliant work, this compliment means almost nothing.

Michael Bay had a great opportunity to make a great movie, perhaps the saving grace of the 2005 Summer movie season. Instead, though, he rushed his work and produced the cinematic equivalent of a train wreck.

A train wreck complete with crashes, smashes, carnage, blood, dismemberment, overwhelming sound effects, and horror unmatched, at least in this particular genre, which could readily be subtitled: What really happens to beautiful people when their looks begin to go.

"The Island" is clocked at about 136 minutes. Superficially that makes for a long movie. Here's the thing: As noted, Bay rushed his work, and produced a disturbing production: The first half of "The Island" is a science fiction effort, replete with parable while the second half is a high-powered, high-concept action picture that makes "The Terminator" tame by comparison.

Understand: Both halves work. But not together, and because they don't "The Island" is what it is: A disjointed mess.

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