Sunshine

Posted by Ty Nelson (roner34@sbcglobal.net) on August 7, 2007

Fifty years from now the sun is burning out. One mission sent to re-ignite it failed. Forced with no other alternative, a new team is sent. An eight astronaut team which includes a physicist, a botanist, a psychiatrist, and any other kind of “ist” that will be needed, board the Icarus-2. The plan is to fly to the sun and drop a really big bomb in it that will “kick-start” the star and save the planet.

Danny Boyle’s Sunshine is a movie that is not sure what it wants to be. It starts out as a Science-fact type movie. We meet the crew and discover their specialties as well as what life might be like if one were to take such a trip. Next we are shown the emotional rigors of such an important mission when Capa (Cillian Murphy) and Mace (Chris Evans, who is quickly becoming a great actor) soon start brawling after a disagreement. Mace is sent to a “holo-deck” type room, it’s nice to see that Star Trek: The Next Generation is still relevant in the future, to cool off and be reminded of what it is they are trying to save. At this point the movie would lead us to believe it is a psychological thriller.

It next switches gears to a mystery. Icarus-1 is discovered and after great debate the crew boards the ship to investigate what happened to the first team. Without giving a whole lot away the movie also becomes a 2001: A Space Odyssey-esque riddle, a Jaws-like man vs. nature struggle. and finally an Alien type thriller. If you’re going to steal, steal from the best.

But the worst transformation is into a cliche. Though I’d never watched this movie before, I felt liked I’d seen it. For instance, there is a scene late in the movie when the computer notifies Capa that there is a fifth person on board the ship, at this point half the crew was killed or has sacrificed themselves for the sake of the mission. Like any rational person might do he asks the computer where this fifth person is. The computer replies that the location is the observation deck. Now, instead of alerting the others, he goes to the O.D. on his own. For a brilliant scientist this guy is pretty stupid.

Where Sunshine succeeds is the execution of these imitations. Even though it is familiar territory the sequences are quite effective. For instance, at one point the shields that protect Icarus-2 from the sun are damaged. Two of the crew have to go out and repair them. Fortunately the ship is turned so they will be in the shade. But when unforeseen circumstances cause the ship to rotate it becomes a race to repair the craft and get to safety in time. The rest of the crew is forced to passively watch as event spiral out of their control.

Sunshine is not a bad flick, but it is not a good one either. I applaud director Danny Boyle in his diversity of projects. In the last eleven years he’s tackled such genres as drug addiction (Trainspotting), romantic comedy (A life less ordinary), zombie film (28 days later), and sentimental family film (Millions) with varying degrees of success. He is trying to accomplish something different with each film. Ultimately it is that desire to be different that de-rails Sunshine.

Final Grade: C

The Upside: Good special effects, decent acting, and some quality kills.

The Downside: Trust me, you’ve seen this all before.

On The Side: If you liked Event Horizon, Alien, or Mission to Mars you might like Sunshine.

Read more articles by Ty Nelson