I watched “The Island” this weekend and while I was pleasantly surprised by how compelling this Michael Bay-directed thriller was, there were a few glaring plot holes I’d like to discuss:
1. GPS: Lincoln (Ewan McGregor) leaves his room in the middle of the night. Considering how advanced the facility is, wouldn’t they have a GPS device inserted into each “product” for tracking purposes? This plot hole has a simple solution – have a scene where Lincoln digs the chip out of his shoulder.
2. The Key: To leave the facility, he uses the key that his supervisor gave him earlier that day. Wouldn’t the supervisor ask for that back? Would a supervisor in that environment really even loan a key like that to one of the products?
3. Contamination: When he left the facility earlier in the day to meet McCord (Buscemi) he had a contamination suit on. As he walks along, he just decides to take off the headpiece. At this point, he still thinks there is contamination outside, so what is he thinking?
4. Oblivious Truck Driver: During the impressive chase scene – where Lincoln and Jordan (Scarlett Johansson) jumped on the trailer of a semi – the giant dumbbells started to fall off the truck. Wouldn’t the driver of the truck notice that he is losing his whole load? We didn’t even get the requisite shot of the driver in the cab, barely paying attention as he drove.
5. Convenient Netting: Jordan and Lincoln fall off the building and are caught by some very convenient netting. The screenwriter missed an opportunity for a great line as the construction guy pulled the two out of the netting. He said “Jesus really loves you” (or something to that effect, indicating that the two were very lucky to survive the fall) – Jordan should have said, “Who’s Jesus?”
6. The Gun: After she was captured, how would Jordan be able to sneak a gun into the facility and why wouldn’t they have her restrained on the operating table?
7. The Doctor: Lincoln’s nemesis, Merrick (played by Sean Bean), is somehow the first to arrive in the turbine room where Lincoln is trying to shut down the hologram. I understand why he’s the first to arrive (so Lincoln and Merrick can square off, mono y mono) but there is no explanation whatsoever. This could have been remedied by having the tech (who notifies Merrick of Lincoln’s location) say, “He’s right by you – in the turbine room.”
Plot holes are generally an easy fix compared to how much enjoyment they suck out of the movie-going experience. You don’t want your audience rolling their eyes, or in my case pausing the DVD to ask their significant other about an oblivious truck driver. I’m always amazed that these plot holes exist in multi-million dollar movies. Couldn’t they pay someone (me) a hundred grand a year to make sure these movies make sense? I know my wife would appreciate it – I would stop pausing DVDs all the time.
