Name: The Future in Action
Genre: Short
Released: 2005-12-13
Duration: 16 min
Rating: 5.3
Cast: Kenny Bates, Michael Bay, Eric Brevig

Michael Bay's THE ISLAND is a special effects action movie, so the DVD provides interviews and various footage in this "making-of" documentary to show the preparation & execution of said FX. It makes more sense than cast interviews and rehearsals (the film's acting performances were nothing to right home about), but the result is simply another boring "Rah Rah" session of folks patting themselves on the back.

Technical crew, especially in physical effects and stunt roles, always refer to a movie as a "show" and use other carny-inspired jargon like "gags" to explain what they're up to. We hear many of the experts that worked on THE ISLAND explain how difficult it all was, and my reaction was: who cares? Their job is to get it right and the film does play well from an action/things blowing up/MTV or TV commercial editing style/attractive sets/impressive CGI standpoint. The fact that it is a pointless, trite and unnecessary followup to classic sci-fi dating back to SOYLENT GREEN seems besides the point.

For haters, director Michael Bay comes off as the arrogant jerk he is always assumed to be, so at least he gives the "fans" what they want in that department. I tried listening to some of his director's commentary behind the main feature as well, but it was impossible to stick for more than a few minutes after hearing his self-appointed "visionary" b.s. He has become the symbol for what has ruined mainstream films in the recent couple of decades known as the MTV/Video Era.

The short form refers to creative works characterized by their brevity and concise storytelling. Unlike full-length feature films, short films have a running time of less than 45 minutes, while TV shorts have a running time of less than 22 minutes.

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The Future in Action

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