Sunshine

I had the opportunity recently to watch the new film Sunshine, directed by Danny Boyle (Trainspotting, 28 Days Later). I’m a big fan of Boyle’s work and I was especially excited to see this one. The story revolves around a group of scientists 50 years in the future on a mission to reignite the dying sun. It stars Cillian Murphy,Rose Byrne, Cliff Curtis, Chris Evans, Troy Garity, Hiroyuki Sanada, Benedict Wong and Michelle Yeoh as the second group attempting to save the world.

Almost the entire film takes place on their ship, Icarus II, as it makes its way towards the sun, adding to the feel of isolation that is essential to the story. The characters find unique ways to pass the time to help from going insane. One uses a room in which calming holographic memories are played to act as therapy. Another uses a special room to view the sun close up while behind a giant protective filter, which allows for some impressive visuals. The shots of the sun’s powerful rays bombarding the ship and crew are quite arresting. I would have loved to have seen this film on the big screen, but since it was in such limited release, I had to settle for watching a pirated copy. I can’t wait to see it on DVD when it’s released.

Eventually, the team stumble upon a distress call from the Icarus I, which was assumed to be missing or worse. After some heated debate, the team decides it’s worth the risk to locate the missing ship. Needless to say, this is the point where the shit hits the proverbial fan. Without giving anything away, the rest of the film is a incredibly tense with only a few plot points that somewhat disappoint.


The cast does an excellent job in this film. I was already a fan of Cillian Murphy after 28 Days Later, and as the Scarecrow in Batman Begins, but this is probably his best performance I’ve seen so far. He plays the steely-eyed physicist with a subtle mix of wonderment and fear, and manages to carry a large portion of the film on his own. Which isn’t to say the rest of the cast didn’t pull their weight. The biggest surprise being Chris Evans (Fantastic Four), who is very effective as the ships hot-headed engineer. When things go south, he winds up making some not so popular decisions to ensure the missions’ success, even at the expense of the crew. Evans does a great job showing both nobility and cold-heartedness, without seeming too cliché. I’m curious what kind of films he’ll do next.

There are some very obvious comparisons to other movies like Event Horizon, and disaster flicks like Armageddon and Deep Impact. The fact that the movie doesn’t cut back to scenes on Earth, helps keep it a step above the rest. It’s defiantly one of the best Sci-Fi movies I’d seen in a long time and one of the best movies this year, it’s a shame it didn’t get a wide release. If you can, give this one a shot when it becomes available.



Watch the international trailer...