Based on the novel by JAWS author Peter Benchley, Michael Ritchie's THE ISLAND is an action-packed high-seas adventure that features a riveting performance from Michael Caine. Caine stars as Blair Maynard, an inquisitive British reporter who sets out to investigate a series of mysterious ocean disappearances in the Caribbean, where more than 600 boats have apparently vanished during the course of three years. While flying over the questionable area with his young son in tow, Maynard's airplane crashes into the briny deep. The two are subsequently stranded on an isolated island, uncharted by the modern world. In time they are captured by a group of scraggly, belligerent pirates who have inhabited the remote island for hundreds of years. After enduring horrible tortures, Caine and his young boy attempt to destroy the anachronistic buccaneers and escape their island purgatory.

With THE ISLAND, Ritchie makes the transition to action films with the skill of a true professional. The initial two attacks on unsuspecting families by an unidentified source create a tension that allows the audience to sympathize with Maynard's situation. Technically, the film contains taut editing by Richard A. Harris in addition to yet another supremely effective score by Ennio Morricone, adding even more mood to the proceedings.