20 Years Later, Scarlett Johansson’s Sc-Fi Action Thriller ‘The Island’ Is a Hit on Netflix

When it comes to over-the-top action flicks, director Michael Bay is certainly among the best to deliver grand spectacles that feature lots of explosions. Add science fiction into the mix as well as a couple of A-list actors, and you have everything necessary for a film that should have been a massive hit, but unfortunately ended up being a certified dud with critics. Now, 20 years after its release, The Island is defying pundits to climb the Netflix streaming charts.

Currently the eighth most popular film on Netflix, The Island stars Scarlett Johansson and Ewan McGregor in a high-concept sci-fi action thriller that hit theaters on July 22, 2005. With names like that, you’d think it would have been a box office smash, but unfortunately, The Island only managed to take in $162 million against a $126 million budget. It fared much better overseas than it did domestically, signifying that American audiences either weren’t aware of the movie due to poor marketing, or they just weren’t interested in what Bay and company were selling. As the director himself once put it in an interview with Collider:

“I liked The Island and the thing is the reaction to The Island, it worked really well overseas. I knew it would never be a smash, because it’s not that type of movie, and I continually have so many people that come up to me and say, ‘God, that movie is so good.’ But no one knew about it in America.”

Also starring Djimon Hounsou, Sean Bean, Michael Clarke Duncan, and Steve Buscemi, The Island was one of those movies that was full of big ideas that perhaps could have been executed a little better. While it had a fascinating premise and featured tons of worldbuilding, there was a lot going on in this one that left some viewers confused. One only has to look at the synopsis to realize that The Island might have fared better had it been more focused instead of blending genres to become a mix of everything:

“In a controlled futuristic compound, residents live orderly lives hoping to win a lottery that sends them to the idyllic ‘Island.’ But when Lincoln Six Echo (McGregor) begins questioning the world around him, he and Jordan Two Delta (Johansson) are thrust into a dangerous journey that reveals their reality isn’t what it seems.”

‘The Island’ Has Been Called a “Hidden Gem” by More Than a Few Fans

Ewan McGregor and Scarlett Johansson in The Island

DreamWorks Distribution

Despite The Island being a certified dud with critics (it holds just a 39% rating on Rotten Tomatoes), that isn’t to say the sci-fi action thriller isn’t without its champions. Some have called it “Michael Bay’s best movie,” while others have said it’s an underrated “hidden gem” that deserves to be seen by more people. Some have even gone so far as to call it “perfect,” like one user on Rotten Tomatoes who wrote:

“This is one of those very rare movies that are perfectly cast, acted, and directed. It will age well.”

Whether or not The Island has aged well is certainly up for debate, but there’s no denying that it’s a fun movie that doesn’t deserve all the hate it gets from critics. At just over two hours, it’s a great sci-fi thriller to turn on and get lost in on a Sunday afternoon, which you can do this weekend thanks to Netflix.