The Island

Michael Jai White, a supremely skilled martial artist and actor, has graced both remarkable and forgettable films with his presence. Known for his impressive combat abilities and powerful screen presence, White's talent is undeniable. However, even a martial arts master like him cannot always rescue a movie from a weak script or lackluster direction.

While he has starred in some acclaimed action films like "Black Dynamite," he has also appeared in less successful works.

Sometimes (pretty often), scripts are written by inexperienced or underqualified writers who may lack the skills to create a compelling and coherent story.

No pun intended - you have to have some love for B-movie action movies to say the least. Also being a fan of Michael Jai White does help. I am not sure if I heard him say this in an interview or not ... but there are some fight scenes in this that he would not suggest doing in real life. Anytime anyone is doing something with knives for example ... but this is a movie, so suspend your disbelief and go with the flow (of fighting).

The story is quite simple - the inciting incident is ... well it may feel bad and over the top at first ... but if you think about the character, it does make sense. The main bad guy may not feel like the best rival for our hero in the end ... but we circle back to the suspension and hopefully you just get with it ... seen worse movies ... and the action is quite decent ...

I'm a fan of MJW and he's fun in most B films, but even he deserves better than this nonsense. His action/fighting skills are barely seen in this mess, and when you do see them, they are terribly filmed and choreographed. Maybe a few kicks where decently viewable and impressive.

This film suffered amateur-hour filmmaking. The directing was in line with what you'd expect to see from a fifth grade drama class. Then it took two writers to come up with a predictable, generic, cliched and dull story that's been done many times before, and all much better. Even the normally comfortable 90 min runtime felt endless with the slow pacing, long dragged out and mostly unnecessary scenes. The score was your typical B-film fare, loud, overbearing and unfitting. Most of the actors were portrayed as cartoonish cliched characters to the point of cringe and eyerolls.

Even if you're a fan of MJW, don't waste your time with this nonsense, it barely classifies as a bad B-film, more like a bad C-film if such category existed. Aside from the similar pretty ariel scenic Hawaiian landscape shots, there's nothing redeemable or worth watching in this mess.

Michael Jai White does what he does so well!!! I set out to watch this movie without too big of expectations but was pleasantly surprised by the story, characters, location and the message. Michael's character love for his family doesn't allow him to do anything less then take on an entire criminal underworld (almost) by himself! Also I was surprised by some of the comic relief in here, especially by Michael's characters police partner. All in all this is a really fun, surprisingly bloody, action fest shot on a gorgeous Caribbean island. Highly recommend this popcorn action film, it's definitely worth a watch with your action film friends!

This B-movie action revenge drama opens on an unnamed Caribbean island. Wealthy Colombian Manuel is interviewing a singer; when the waiter who is serving them spills wine on her he murders the man! The waiter has a brother, Mark, who works for the LAPD; he returns to the island and doesn't believe what he is told about his brother getting mixed up with gangs that have troubled the island in recent years. As Mark starts investigating Manuel sends his thugs after him... inevitably this goes badly for them and Mark has Manuel in his sights. It won't be easy though; Manuel is a danger to anybody close to Mark and he has a lot of people working for him.

This is not a great film; the plot is fairly cliché and the outcome won't surprise anybody. That said no one would claim it aspired to greatness; it is just trying to be an entertaining action drama made on a relatively tight budget... at this is succeeds. The opening scenes effectively introduce the villain then our hero and the story is quickly under way. There are plenty of action scenes spread throughout the movie with just enough conversational scenes in between to advance the plot. The action is decent enough with martial arts and gun-play. Michael Jai White is solid as Mark; good enough to think he deserves better material in future. The rest of the cast are okay even if some are a bit hammy... the genre almost demands that. The setting, filmed in location in St Kitts and Nevis looks great. Overall I'd say this is fun enough; worth watching if you enjoy the lesser action films that were churned out in the '80s and '90s.