Transformers director Michael Bay is a master of high-octane kicks, but often falters when it comes to story development. So it's not surprising that this sleek, futuristic action thriller plays like a series of chase sequences dressed up with flimsy sci-fi. Yet, for all its superficiality, the film is relentlessly entertaining, with Ewan McGregor particularly engaging as a survivor of an ecological disaster that wiped out most of the planet's inhabitants. Now housed in a contained facility, he's led by curiosity to horrific discoveries about his home and the lottery draw that offers relocation to "the Island" - allegedly an uncontaminated paradise. Unfortunately, fellow resident Scarlett Johansson can't match McGregor's allure, and she's reduced to the role of ineffectual love interest following the duo's daring escape to the forbidden, outside world. However Bay seems unconcerned about his sketchy, clichéd characters, sidelining them along with the movie's moral issues in favour of flashy effects, chases and explosions. It hits the spot as an adrenaline fix, but frustratingly squanders its true potential.