Movie Fan Zone

Danny Boyle takes on science fiction. Based on his work with the horror genre in 28 Days Later, I had quite high expectations with this one. The film is called Sunshine.

The film revolves around a group of eight men and women on board a space shuttle who are the planet’s last hope of survival. Not to worry, it is not exactly what Al Gore has warned us. Actually, their mission is to re-ignite the sun.

You see, the sun is dying. Moreover, mankind is not going to survive that long if this continues. So, this crew of the Icarus must deliver a payload containing a weapon that would charge the dying star once more.

It is not that simple. Along the way, they encounter fatal mistakes, an emergency call from a previous space mission and a… well, that’s a spoiler. Just know this: this SF adventure is a ride. A thrill ride.

First, the positives: Cillian Murphy, Rose Byrne and Hiroyuki Sanada are effective in this film. Murphy stands out, his emotional performance was just realistic. He made the audience believe he was actually that smart and competent. Byrne and Sanada gave nuanced performances that did not distract and were never over-the-top.

The effects were also noteworthy. Boyle was able to showcase the ship, as well as the galaxy, in a documentary style that evokes memories of NASA field trips.

The negatives? For starters, the characters of Michelle Yeoh and Chris Evans. I was not sure of the characterization of Evans’ character while Yeoh’s part was too cliched. Another problem was a twist in the latter part of the film that was just too overblown.

Other than my nitpicking which I feel is valid, I highly recommend you catch this film. Is it as good as 2001: A Space Odyssey by Stanley Kubrick? Let’s just say this was a bit more entertaining than that masterpiece. Not superior but it was intended to be more of a modern adventure than a futuristic opus.

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Sunshine, Danny Boyle, Cillian Murphy, Rose Byrne, Hiroyuki Sanada, Chris Evans, Michelle Yeoh, 28 Days Later, 2001: A Space Odyssey, Stanley Kubrick

[image from: cinemastrikesback.com]