Admittedly, I'm a bit late to this party, but I just finished watching Sunshine from director Danny Boyle. You may know Mr. Boyle's work from 28 Days Later and 28 Weeks Later, as well as his critically acclaimed Slumdog Millionaire. The film features a fantastic ensemble cast, including Chris Evans (soon to be on the big screen as Captain America), Cillian Murphy (from Boyle's 28 Days Later and as Scarecrow from Christopher Nolan's Batman reboot), Rose Byrne (Troy), Michelle Yeoh (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon), Cliff Curtis (The Whale Rider), Troy Garity (Steal This Movie), Hiroyuki Sanada (The Last Samurai), and Benedict Wong (Dirty Pretty Things).
Sunshine plot synopsis
In a future where the sun is dying, these intrepid astronauts undertake a mission to save humanity from extinction. Aboard a vessel dubbed the Icarus II, they are traveling to the sun in order to deliver their payload of a nuclear device roughly equal in mass to Manhattan in the hope that they can jumpstart the fusion that powers it and reignite it. They're the second crew to attempt this; Icarus I failed in their identical mission for reasons unknown at the start of the film.
Sunshine is a very smart movie, giving real thought to the dangers and pitfalls of space travel. The Icarus vessels are intelligent in their design, featuring an oxygen garden filled with hydroponic plants to help provide oxygen for the crew as well as fresh food supplies. The realistic treatment of unshielded sunlight and the effects of deep space's vacuum are also welcome surprises in a genre that has a tendency to tweak physics to suit whatever is needed at a given time.
Smart sci-fi
I won't include spoilers, but the film does take a turn toward the horror genre in the final third, but even so, it's not unbelievable and is handled very well, in my opinion. As far as psychological thrillers go, I think that this is a very worthy entry and every bit as fine a piece of cinema as I've come to expect from Boyle. He delivers taut performances from all of the actors and a progressive ratcheting up of the tension levels throughout.
The environment is claustrophobic and there's literally no way for the people to get away from one another. It quickly becomes clear that there are long-standing tensions between these individuals and the weight of their mission is clearly beginning to wear upon them by the time we meet them.
If you enjoy smartly written science fiction, Sunshine is a movie for you.
Heather Reasby - H.L. Reasby
Join the Conversation