A sci-fi flop that blamed its stars for bombing before being sued for copyright infringement trades utopia for dystopia on streaming

One of the major criticisms leveled at Michael Bay’s The Island – other than the fact it wasn’t very good – was its refusal to acknowledge the looming specter of Logan’s Run.

Essentially a remake of the sci-fi classic in every sense of the word, both revolve around a utopian future that quickly becomes a dystopian nightmare when the residents of an idyllic underground compound clad in identical jumpsuits discover their dream isn’t quite what they think it is, forcing a stoic hero and somewhat reluctant female accomplice to go on the lam and discover what the outside world holds.

Ironically, The Island did end up getting sued for copyright infringement, but it wasn’t by anyone who had anything to do with Logan’s Run. Instead, the creators of 1979 horror Parts: The Clonus Horror took issue with its narrative, which production company DreamWorks opted to settle before it went to trial.

The first flop of Bay’s directorial career, the visually striking but thematically empty epic only earned $163 million at the box office on a $126 million budget, which the producers harshly blamed on stars Ewan McGregor and Scarlett Johansson. Walter Parkes and Laurie MacDonald said in public that “we know Ewan’s not a star, but he’s such a good actor,” before adding in regards to Johansson that “even lesser television actresses, quite honestly, would have more connection to that audience.” Ouch.

Regardless of its critical, commercial, legal, and producorial reputation, The Island has decided to roar back to life on streaming, with FlixPatrol naming it as one of the biggest hits on iTunes so far this week, lack of star power notwithstanding.