Customer Reviews
Not so Mysterious Island 
2008-07-17
Many others have outlined the plot here. So I won't delve into that. As a fan of Patrick Stewart, I thought I'd give this a try. It was in the cheap DVD bin, so it wasn't a big expense. This movie is awful. I can't help but wonder if Stewart owed somebody a favor to appear in it. As pointed out, Nemo works best as a background character, but here he's front and center. He's set up nice (from a stranded on an island POV) digs. The characters seem to be just running around in the jungle, once Nemo abandons them to their fate. They encounter one cheesy special effect after another. Things are so bad that in the end, Nemo is scrambling on the deck of the Nautilus when he bumps one of the appendages on the sub, and it just topples over! Badly acted, downright monotonous at times, with lousy Grade-Z SPFX, this movie is for Jules Verne completists only.
Not a Review: A Question 2008-05-07
So, the product details say both "Widescreen" _and_ "1.33:1". From those of you who've seen it...:
Which is it?
Hmmmm. Interesting. 
2008-03-11
I wasn't expecting much, and I was mostly happy as such.
I received "Mysterious Island" for X-mas when I was 11, and it is one of my favorite reads after Michael Strogoff.
The Harryhausen movie was a television staple at the time, and I saw it and was disappointed at the changes. This time, I expected the changes and was less disappointed.
Patrick Stewart, Kyle McLachlan and Gabrielle Anwar put in solid performances, as I expected. The cast was part of the reason I bought the DVD. The story was revised in an interesting way, with Stewart appearing almost immediately. My major disappointments were: 1) the occasional poor integration between live shots and scenery CGI, especially in the flying scenes; and 2) the cookie-cutter pirates taken right out the Caribbean, despite the movies South Pacific location and Southeast Asian scenery. The soundtrack is definitely a flashback to the 60's/70's B-movie tracks and it occasionally illiceted a laugh, detracting from the movie itself.
Accept the movie for what it is and enjoy, but keep in mind that it might be a little scary for the younger kids.
Decent TV remake of the 1961 version with Patrick Stewart as Capt. Nemo 
2007-11-20
Being a big fan of the original 1961 version of "Mysterious Island," I HAD to see this 2005 TV remake. Despite the somewhat lackluster reviews, a few things perked my interest, like Patrick Stewart (aka Star Trek's Captain Picard) as Captain Nemo, Gabrielle Anwar and the long runtime of 170 minutes, just ten minutes shy of 3 hours (!). What compelled me to seek out this DVD more than anything is the simple fact that I'm a sucker for lost-in-the-wilderness type adventures.
THE PLOT: A handful of people, including a nurse and her daughter, escape in a balloon from a Confederate prison in Virginia. Storm winds ludicrously take them West into the South Pacific where they land on an uncharted island. There they discover numerous huge animals and two men living as recluses, the master being the mad genius Captain Nemo, who hates war so much he's trying to invent the atomic bomb in order to stop it altogether. Add to this mix a ship of pirates seeking a chest of treasure hidden somewhere on the island.
Despite the film's full title "Jules Verne's Mysterious Island," the story is based on the 1961 movie rather than Jules Verne's book. All the elements of the 1961 version are here with a few notable changes: The story is switched around so that Captain Nemo is revealed right away rather than near the end and the castaways don't search the island and make their home in the cliff until the second half of the story. Also, there are way more gigantic creatures -- a mantis, rat, scorpian, ant, eagle, spiders, octopuss, etc.
WHAT WORKS: The Thailand locations are incredibly scenic; the cast is decent -- characters you don't like at the beginning you'll probably start liking by the end; the score is excellent throughout; the story maintains a vibe of realism despite the absurdities (for instance, it's never goofy or campy like, say, "Pirates of the Caribbean"); the CGI special effects for the various creatures are pretty good; the pirates look & act like real pirates (the captain is particularly impressive) with a good mix of races and an accurate Eastern-styled ship; and the second half of the story is much more captivating than the first half (so if you're bored with the first half, stick around -- it gets better).
During the first half of the story you'll note a growing attraction between the castaway leader (Kyle MacLachlan) and Gabrielle Anwar's character. In the second half, this culminates in a seriously passionate kiss. I'm usually not into kissing scenes, but this is one smoking hot kiss!! If you think the greatest cinematic kiss is in "Jerry McGuire" or "The Whole Wide World" (which indeed have famous kiss scenes), check this out.
After hearing the criticism leveled at the black castaway Neb (Omar Gooding), I was prepared for the worst. Upon seeing the film, however, I don't get the beef. Not one bit. Neb, as portrayed, is far from an "1860's gansta rapper with an attitude." When they first land on the island he shows a bit of angst toward the unlikable character Pencroff in response to the criticism, "You're just a slave anyway." Neb rightly responds that they're far from the Confederacy and slavery doesn't exist on deserted islands. Isn't it realistic that Neb would revel in a new-found sense of freedom now that he's far from the social constrictions of the Confederacy and America in general? Besides, his "attitude" is short-lived. He's actually a likable character as the rest of the film bears out. Interestingly, even though Pencroff is an irritating weasel throughout most of the story he redeems himself near the end and even reveals his love and respect for Neb (and vice versa). I wasn't expecting this.
WHAT DOESN'T WORK: Captain Nemo isn't remotely likable here -- he's basically just a grumpy recluse who happens to be brilliant; there are probably TOO MANY monsters -- sometimes less is more; the explanation for the numerous large creatures is lame (why didn't they just chalk it up to Nemo's experiments like the original film?); I found it hard to believe that the handful of male castaways could prevail against an entire ship of pirates during the onboard battle in the second half (but this is larger-than-life fantasy, right? And the fight is thrilling); and the CGI effects at the very end depicting lava and an erupting volcano aren't very impressive (although they get the job done).
One of the highlights of the original film was cutie Beth Rogan and her skimpy cavegirl outfit. Unfortunately neither female cast member in this remake dons such an outfit. I suppose it's more realistic, of course. Anyway, Danielle Calvert certainly possesses a undeniable cuteness as Helen, but Beth Rogan blows her out of the water.
FINAL ANALYSIS: The critics are a bit too hard on this 2005 remake. It's a respectable TV updating of the story. If you love awe-inspiring island locations, a great score, island adventure, gigantic creatures, convincing pirates, lost treasure, Captain Nemo and insightful moralizing about the evils of war, you'll want to catch this remake. The original 1961 version is a nigh-masterpiece and I admit that I can't say that about this version. It's somewhat flawed and doesn't have the mystery-build-up of the original, but it has numerous positive aspects the first one lacks, and it'll likely grow on me in years to come.
This is a must if you appreciate adventure/fantasy films like the original 1961 version, Sinbad, Conan, Jurassic Park and Pirates of the Caribbean (not that I'm a big fan of the latter two franchises, but this newer version of "Mysterious Isand" is strongly reminiscent of those films in certain areas).
It's fairly interesting. 2007-06-25
The special effects are better than those of many tv shows. The acting is so so. The movie satisfies my curiosity.
It's worth watching once.
Buy the old one 
2007-06-15
This movie has really bad acting. The direction is very poor. This movie is hard to sit through. The production values are poor. They cannot even show an entire balloon flying through the air. The scale of scenery does not make sense. Seems like a very cheap remake. Just buy the old one. Mysterious Island (1961) (Ws)
There's a mystery here 2007-06-08
Yessir, there is a real mystery in Jules Verne's Mysterious Island. The mystery is why people don't read the books they "adapt" into films. How very appropriate that they saw fit to put Verne's name in front of the title. This does distinguish it from every other mysterious island.
Ostensibly this one is a remake of the Ray Harryhausen film version of 1961, although no credit is given to that film or the Columbia Pictures serial of 1951 from whence plot elements were borrowed.
Patrick Stewart portrays the grumpiest Captain Nemo ever. Within the first half hour of this three hour opus, all the mysteries are explained. Then the story drifts into the territory of the teleseries "Lost." Having read the book, I was already lost.
It is nice that producers continue to keep the name of Jules Verne alive. Some life in this lackluster script would have been nice. If one is going to abandon plot ideas from the original, at least the ideas replacing them might be chosen from somewhere other than the bottom of the barrel.
A faithful rendering of the novel may be too much to ask, but if the name Hallmark is going to adorn the credits, then maybe the Hallmark tradition of the 1950's should be remembered. Back then plays were presented in sterling silver productions. This stainless steel one shows too much tarnish.
No substitute for the original 2007-02-05
As a kid, I was always a big fan of the Ray Harryhausen effects in movies, and "Mysterious Island" was my favorite. When I saw this remake at the video store, I was really anxious to see an updated version with today's advanced special effects.
I was sorely disappointed. Not only are the visual effects a poor effort in comparison to the 1961 version, but the modified story line is amateurishly written and the acting is as if the cast is all in on the same joke to be deliberately bad. I realized watching this that it's a made-for-TV effort, but still they don't need to make it seem so low budget. I'm really surprised an actor like Patrick Stewart would have taken on this project after reading the script.
I'd highly recommend that you pass on this one and try the original instead. And while you're at it, try some of Harryhausen's other films, such as "First Men in the Moon" (1964) and "Jason and the Argonauts" (1963).
A Whole New Treatment 2007-01-17
Escapees from a Civil War prison camp have their balloon blown to the Pacific where they find refuge on an island. But it is a dangerous island where giant animals run free and man is on the dinner list. But safely hidden away is a recluse and his manservant. The recluse is Captain Nemo. He offers aid to the refugees if they help him with his work. Nemo is creating a bomb that can destroy an entire city. The idea being that when men see how destructive war can be they will stop practicing war altogether because the consequences are to high. Needles to say the refugees refuse to help and they are sent out into the dangerous jungle.
But once in the jungle there are other dangers waiting. A legendary pirate treasure lures deadly pirates to the island. Nemo does not like the pirates but he refuses to help though the manservant does not agree. Finally the forces of good unite to repel the pirates and things pretty much work out.
This is not true to the book or even other film versions and many reviewers will point it out and complain that the story should be true to the original. Of course the original was a sequel to 20,000 LEAGUES UNDER THE SEA and it was not true to that so even Verne is at fault. But there are worse things wrong that not being true to the book. The balloon is blown over 6,000 miles against the trade winds. The characters survive with a single canteen and no food (that must have been a super-fast balloon). Arial shots show the volcano on the back side of the island but it is usually down the beach in ground shots. It is said the island is uncharted by any man. I am sure Nemo knows where it is. Plus, the pirates have no problems finding it and other survivors have brought out tales of monsters. The end has a moment that implies the survivors will not survive past the credits 9unintentional I am sure but there just the same). The thing in the cave has tentacles according to the shadows but turns out to be spiders later on. Nemo gets stuck for no reason. No mention of the seaworthiness of his vessel is ever made so one has to wonder why he doesn't just drive it away (ho obviously plans to leave and use his weapon). There are too many monsters to be supported on the island. Many of them pass through vegetation due to bad coordination between the sets and the CGI.
It is a fun story but it could have made more sense by just changing a few lines. There was no need to keep brining in new monsters. Just a couple that kept showing up would have done the same job and seemed less ridiculous. But it is fun and full of action which is probably what was trying to be done. If you want entertainment then this qualifies. If you want true Jules Verne, then this does not. Check it out.
A pleasant surprise 2006-10-24
Though some reviews of this adventure miniseries have been unfavorable, the movie successfully recreates the feeling of Saturday matinee serials, as well as the Harryhausen film of 1961 which clearly inspired it. Purists seem to have been disappointed with changes from Verne's original novel, but this Hallmark production owes more to the Cy Endfield version, and in that respect, it's entertaining, colorful, delightfully improbable, and (for a TV film) sumptuous. Enough monsters, swordfights, pirates, treasure, action, scenery, and humor for five films, and the pacing is brisk. Performances manage to engage, with Patrick Stewart's Captain Nemo a standout. Set design is very elaborate, and the film has great visual beauty. Perfect for eight and ten year olds, this fanciful and endearingly childlike "lost world" adventure is priced right to buy, for fans.
