The Island of Dr. Moreau


Starring: Marlon Brando, Val Kilmer, David Thewlis, Fairuza Balk, Ron Pearlman
Directed by: Richard Stanley, John Frankenheimer
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Horror, Science Fiction, Thriller
1996

Times Seen:
Tim: 2

Summary: Rescued from the ocean, a man (David Thewlis) is taken to an island run by Dr. Moreau (Marlon Brando), a scientist who has been experimenting with crossing humans and animals. On the island, he lives with his assistant (Val Kilmer), his daughter (Fairuza Balk), and a colony of half animals, half humans. The stranger arrives on the island before a shift in the peaceful coexistence into a rebellion.

Review:

Tim: This is nothing more than a glorified freak show. I understand what the film was trying to accomplish, but it fails in nearly every manner.

First off, the mutant experiments gone wrong are disgusting to see. I can take the half-human animals. It is the 80% human, 20% animals that make me feel a little sick and immediately tired of the movie.

Marlon Brando is decent, but the rest of the actors are either woefully miscast or give pitiful performances. David Thewlis is not an incredible actor and makes a weak and pathetic protagonist. I am bored just thinking about his performance. We never identify with him or care much about his fate at all. Val Kilmer is less than decent. His role is too strange to be very good, and every moment on screen, he seems to be trying to grasp at his role while it moves past him.

The films tries to deliver and important warning about not altering the laws of nature. Sadly, this message gets lost in a mess of a movie. The real lesson to be learned is, "Don't make bad movies."

The Island of Dr. Moreau is anticlimactic, uneven, and unmemorable, except for the fact that you didn't like it.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 3



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