Directed by:
Danny BoyleScreenplay:
Alex GarlandCinematography:
Alwin H. KuchlerCast:
Cillian Murphy, Rose Byrne, Chris Evans, Michelle Yeoh, Hiroyuki Sanada, Troy Garity, Cliff Curtis, Mark Strong, Benedict Wong, Paloma Baeza, Chipo ChungPlots(1)
Fifty years from now, the sun is dying, and mankind is dying with it. Our last hope: a spaceship and a crew of eight men and women. They carry a device which will breathe new life into the star. But deep into their voyage, out of radio contact with Earth, their mission is starting to unravel. There is an accident, a fatal mistake, and a distress beacon from a spaceship that disappeared seven years earlier. Soon the crew is fighting not only for their lives, but their sanity. (Fox Searchlight Pictures US)
(more)Videos (3)
Reviews (9)
Visually impressive and with a very unconventional premise, but the end result is unfortunately somewhat mixed. Thank God it's not about philosophizing on the origin or decline of humanity (although someone occasionally utters something along those lines), but rather a fast-paced and intriguing sci-fi flick with a few truly action-packed and intense moments. Surprisingly, there is a lack of scientific jargon and analysis, which is good because viewers usually have a hard time understanding them. The problem are the characters, they are only superficially sketched and we don't really learn anything about them. Then there’s the unnamed immigrant, who sticks out like a sore thumb, and it’s precisely because of this that this solid sci-fi film loses most of its attractiveness and appeal, as towards the end it becomes just clichés and a cat-and-mouse game. Despite this fatal flaw, I must say that it is a very unconventional work and as such it cannot be rated merely average.
()
Never mind that according to the scholarly press, Sunshine is science fiction with the most scientific and technical nonsense in years, because Danny Boyle's extremely evocative direction trumps every plot misstep. Whether it's the scene of adjusting the solar filter, repairing the protective panels, or the impressive flyover of Mercury silhouetted against the backdrop of a hot solar disc, Boyle has managed to awaken in me what I last experienced with Zemeckis' Contact: a fascination with space. And surprisingly, even the killer "zombie" at the end, whose existence in the film is so criticized, didn't bother me at all. On the contrary, with his "role" as a self-proclaimed god, he gave the film a tantalizing mysterious dimension. A must see if possible in the cinema, this is an audiovisual juggernaut designed for the big screen.
()
Danny Boyle's contribution to the sci-fi genre is sort of a pleasant compromise in the end. Sunshine doesn't stand out for its pomposity or bombastic visuals, but it's exactly halfway between a grand space adventure and a cramped survival drama. Unfortunately, the script slightly staggers in its second half, but thanks to precise direction it is still a rather impressively made sci-fi, and for very modest money.
()
Sunshine is too low-budget and chatty, and with too many interior shots for a grandiose mainstream sci-fi movie, and it’s too unoriginal and clichéd for an intelligent intimate drama. We know practically nothing about the characters, we have already seen almost every twist in the story elsewhere, and the film is visually austere, at least one level worse than Event Horizon. I don’t like to say it, but even the silly The Core was more fun than this. Danny, stop with this bullshit and shoot Porno (note for those not in the know: the announced sequel to Trainspotting).
()
This movie really got to me. Because I'm the kind of guy who thinks a lot about the end of the world. How it's going to look. What exactly is going to happen to us? One of those considerations, of course, relates to the extinction of our sun. That big yellow ball I curse on these hot days. Danny Boyle, a director whom I didn’t know very well up until now (of course I'm going to change that now) literally glued me to my seat and dazzled my eyes with breathtaking visuals and great direction. The actors were also perfectly cast. I'll just mention the brilliant Cillian Murphy and the surprisingly great Chris Evans (this guy has a promising future ahead of him, I'm keeping my fingers crossed). What more to say. Best movie I've seen so far this year.
()
Ads