We watched The Island last night. On the one hand, this is one of those very rare instances where critics ought to be allowed to employ the word "derivative." The list of films from which The Island lifts everything from plot to design to dialogue are far too numerous to mention. Start with Metropolis, move along to Logan's Run, then Coma, then The Fifth Element and The Matrix, and you start to get the picture. And yet, on the other hand, recognizing that it lacks even a scintilla of that overrated commodity originality, it was still quite enjoyable as the Big Dumb Action Film that it was. I cannot deny that I had fun watching The Island and will not try. It's worth a rental. However, I stand astounded at the fact that films like this have such budgets lavished upon them. Do producers actually watch movies or do they only listen to "high concept" pitches? One must wonder, especially after seeing The Island. Someone thought this was a very intelligent film, and I have to wonder about that, as well.