Sunshine

Sunshine (2007)

Image From IMDB

Danny Boyle and Alex Garland combine with a stellar cast (see what I did there) to produce something beautiful and haunting. Sunshine is one of those movies I loved first time round, and it just gets better with each watch. There’s something so disconcerting about it that just works.

I’ve always been a big fan of the whole ‘crew in space, journey goes to hell’ setup. Whether it be Aliens, Event Horizon, or 2001 Space Odyssey, it’s always been one of those stories I enjoy, and Sunshine is no exception.

The crew of Icarus Two have to journey to the sun and set of a bomb that will reignite the dying star. The trips difficult enough as it is, but when they discover the abandoned Icarus One which failed years earlier, curiosity and ambition get the better of them and all kinds of possible literal Hell ensue.

Like I said, the setup of the crew going through the ringer is one we know, and there’s nothing new here in that regard, but, Danny Boyles ambitious visual trickery and the casts well formed characters elevate this film above expectations.

Chris Evans puts in his best performance before a certain Captain entered his career, and Cillian Murphy excelled in his role. The effects looked fantastic, and whether the science is flawed or not––I don’t know, I’m a writer not a scientist damn it––the way it’s presented feels believable and adds to the tension.

Each new problem they come across racks up the suspense while dwindling the crew. With the characters all getting somewhat equal screen time it’s quite difficult to work out who’s next for the chop, and the ones you don’t mind dying kind of grew on you as the film progresses.

It goes a little slashery in the final act, which I don’t quite think stands up to the rest of the film, but even that is enjoyable enough with the strange camera angles and visuals.

My favourite scene is probably the airlock debate aboard Icarus One, but if you asked me tomorrow it could be the broken panels outside the ship, or the discussion about whether to kill a member of the crew in order to provide enough air for the rest of the trip. It’s one of those films that you like different elements each time you watch it.

Sunshine is tense, haunting, and pretty damn vicious in places. You want them to succeed, but are fascinated by how everything is falling apart. In my opinion, it’s one of those movies that will endure through the ages and only be liked more as time goes on. Definitely a movie i’d recommend.