MOVIE REVIEW: Sunshine (2007)

Rarely do I brave the crowds to catch a film on opening night anymore but I had to make an exception for Danny Boyle’s Sunshine. In a summer filled with spiritless sequels, I was certain the British director’s seventh feature film wouldn’t disappoint. And it didn’t. Boyle has proven himself as adept at sci-fi as he has at the other genres he’s tackled over the years (suspense, comedy, horror, family), crafting a film that makes you think, blows you away visually, and ultimately scares you silly.

And what a concept, courtesy Brit novelist/screenwriter Alex Garland (who’s teamed with Boyle before on The Beach and 28 Days Later): eight astronauts aboard a ship, Icarus 2, are on a mission to set off a nuclear detonation inside the sun, which is dying, in order to bring it – and consequently a freezing Earth – back to life. They do this with the knowledge that the last ship – Icarus – failed in its attempt seven years earlier and that they are mankind’s final hope of survival.

As Capa, the physicist who built the Manhattan-sized bomb Icarus 2 is carrying, aka ‘the payload’, Cillian Murphy (28 Days Later, Red Eye) has the juiciest role in this ensemble piece. He’s joined by Cliff Curtis, Michelle Yeoh, Rose Byrne, Troy Garity, Hiroyuki Sanada, Benedict Wong and Chris Evans. Not to mention the creepy female voice of the Icarus 2 (Chipo Chung), who’s thankfully better behaved than 2001’s HAL 9000.

If the film has a true ‘star’ though it’s the sun: a bubbling, blinding orb that fills the screen at various points throughout the film. You can’t take your eyes off it, and the star’s sheer power – even though it’s not at full strength – is brutally evident on more than one occasion.

Sunshine starts out raising metaphysical questions about humanity and survival, taking a page from the aforementioned Stanley Kubrick classic. But a chain of events alters Icarus 2’s course, and that’s when things turn truly frightening. Boyle knows how to create a sense of dread (if you don’t believe me check out the first 15 minutes of 28 Days Later), and as soon as things start to turn squirrelly for the ship’s crew you know it’s only going to get worse.

If there’s one complaint with Sunshine it’s that the conclusion doesn’t live up to what preceded it. Not quite a cop-out, but you do get the sense that the creators weren’t exactly sure how to wrap things up after such an engaging and original set-up. That said, this stands among Boyle’s better and more ambitious works, Trainspotting, Shallow Grave, and 28 Days Later, easily superior to his only real blunder, A Life Less Ordinary (I still haven’t forgiven Ewan McGregor for that one).

If you have any interest in seeing Sunshine, do yourself a favour and see it in a movie theatre as it’s meant to be viewed rather than waiting for DVD. Me, I’m waiting for the IMAX version.

Sunshine *** (out of 5)
Rated: R
Directed by: Danny Boyle
Starring: Cillian Murphy
Written by: Alex Garland
Related links: Sunshine movie blog, Trailer

Review by Cate Jones

Agree? Disagree? Email Cate at criticizecate@gmail.com