Sunshine

Rated R for: Violent content and language

Running Time:

Starring: Cillian Murphy, Chris Evans, Rose Byrne

Rating: Two and a half stars [out of four]

In theatres now




The year is 2057. Our sun is dying. Somewhere up in the night sky, it is quickly fading, and the inhabitants of planet earth are doomed. Our only hope is a group of scientists sent to the massive star with a ton of explosives. Their mission: to re-ignite the sun and save the human race.

Sound familiar? It should- we've seen this type of plot before. And if Sunshine were directed by, say, Michael Bay, you'd know exactly what to expect: bad melodrama; plenty of explosions; a paper-thin plot propelled by a rag-tag group of heroes and anchored by an actress with perfect hair and enormous cleavage.

Fortunately for us, the movie isn't directed by Michael Bay, or any of the hacks who rip him off. No, Sunshine is in the capable hands of Danny Boyle, of Trainspotting and 28 Days Later fame, who knows a thing or two about spinning an intelligent thriller. Here he makes sure that there is no confusing his film with an stereotypical summer blockbuster that he goes head on in the other direction. You won't be confusing Sunshine with Die Hard any time soon.

The description of the plot I gave above is purposely vague: this is the type of movie you don't want to spoil for yourself at all. The less you know about Sunshine going in, the better. And, needless to say, the summary may make the movie seem simple, when, in reality, it is anything but.

I do have to give you some more details about the movie, however, but I'll be careful not to give too much away here.

Sunshine stars Cillian Murphy [Red Eye, the aforementioned 28 Days Later] as Robert, a physicist onboard the Icarus II, a spaceship heading straight toward our dying sun. He, along with seven other crew members, are headed on the second flight to drop explosives into the sun to "re-ignite" it and, thus, save earth. The first Icarus met a dire fate, and this second ship is mankind's last hope.

On the way, they pick up a distress signal from the original ship, and find themselves in a particularly difficult moral quandry. Of course, that's only the beginning of their problems- by the end of the movie, the distress signal and ensuing problem seem like child's play compared to the absolutely horrific troubles ahead for the Icarus crew.

I'm not going to say anymore than that, lest I spoil the plot, but rest assured that the movie is much bigger in scope and story than the little bit I've given away. All hell breaks lose aboard the ship, and things spiral out of control beyond what anyone could have imagined.

In fact, that's one of the movie's strongest points- every time you think you have a grasp on where the movie is going, within twenty minutes a monkey wrench is thrown into your logic, and the movie spins a completely new direction. These aren't your run-of-the-mill twists and turns, and it really makes for an unpredictable and entertaining movie experience.

Now for the bad news- the film has many moments of suspense and emotional impact, but there are also long stretches that seem to drag on way too long, leaving your mind wandering and your eyes drifting toward your watch. Add to that the fact that the editing can be so fast-paced at times that it's hard to keep up, especially as the film reaches its frentic finale.

That being said, there is real, genuine emotion in Sunshine. There is real drama, and it isn't the Bruckheimer brand. These characters are put into unthinkable moral situations on top of the physical dangers they find themselves facing. It grabs you on a very basic human level and pulls your heartstrings along for the ride. As much as this is a science fiction thriller, it's also an intimate drama.

A lot has been made of the last third of the movie, which takes a rather unexpected twist, and turns the genre of the picture on its head a bit. Some find this change of pace disconcerting, but it didn't bother me too much. Did it seem out of place? A bit, but it still worked within the concept of the movie.



The ending itself does leave you scratching your head a bit, even more than the rest of the film. Whether this is a good thing or not is up to the individual viewer, I suppose, but it's all worth it to get to the last five minutes of the movie, which is absolutely beautiful.

That's another of Sunshine's strengths: the visuals in this movie are pretty amazing. The film tries to show the beauty of space, of nature, and they succeed pretty damn well. Think Soderbergh's remake of Solaris on a grander scale, and you'll get an idea of what I mean.

I really can't say for sure that I just felt the movie was deserving of the rating I gave it. This is my initial impression after only a single viewing. I get the funny feeling that this film will require multiple viewings to fully understand and appreciate. In fact, I'm wondering if maybe the boring, slow lulls won't be so boring and slow the second time through. Only one way to find out, of course.

In the end, I would say the film is worth at least one viewing. Some people will love it, some people will hate it: this is one of those films where there is no in-between.

But if you're looking for an intelligent, emotional, solid sci-fi drama that explorers further than your typical summer fare, look no further than Sunshine.