The Island

The Island is currently streaming in Australia on Netflix and ABC iview, and in the US on Paramount Plus Premium and Kanopy, and it earns its premise rather than just borrowing genre trappings. A tight runtime that never overstays its welcome. With 5,924 viewer ratings on TMDB, this is not a title flying under the radar. Ewan McGregor anchors it with a performance that grounds the bigger ideas in something human. Put it on tonight on Netflix and see for yourself.

There is a reason The Island keeps coming up in conversation. The Island uses its genre premise as cover for asking bigger questions. In 2019, Lincoln Six-Echo is a resident of a seemingly "Utopian" but contained facility. Like all of the inhabitants of this carefully-controlled environment, Lincoln hopes to be chosen to go to The Island — reportedly the last uncontaminated location on the planet. But Lincoln soon discovers that everything about his existence is a lie. Ewan McGregor and Scarlett Johansson lead a cast that keeps the bigger ideas grounded in something human. The Island came out in 2005. The Island resists the temptation to explain everything, trusting the audience to sit with ambiguity. It delivers reliably on what it promises, which is more than most of its competition manages.

Sci-fi fans who want ideas alongside the spectacle will find The Island genuinely rewarding. It stands on its own even without an obvious comparison point. It is a manageable watch, easy to fit into a single evening. Ewan McGregor's performance is the anchor the more ambitious moments need. The world-building pays off in ways you will not anticipate on a first watch.