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.
