Sunshine Reviews

Awful

I have never felt compelled to write a review before, but having sat through the best part of this film, I thought I should.

I think it tries to follow Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey, in as much as it's quiet, there's little dialogue, and it's set maily inside a spaceship with folks talking to the computer.

Unfortunately, nothing happens. They have to re-ignite the sun, but we're not sure why, and to be honest, I wasn't really bothered if they did or not.

The most interesting aspect was trying to remember in which other films you saw the actors.

My advice would be to hire something else...anything else.

Solar crisis

His low-budget sleeper hit 28 Days Later gave director Danny Boyle some leeway with the Hollywood studios, and he’s used it to make this gripping sci-fi yarn. It has a nice balance between thrills (with big explosions, astronauts being blown out of airlocks etc) alongside heavier stuff (the end of humankind – it doesn’t get much more serious than that!). In truth, though, this is closer to the likes of Solaris, 2001: A Space Odyssey, Silent Running and Alien (John Carpenter’s work-of-genius space comedy Dark Star is also referenced, trivia fans – check out the name of the captain of Icarus I). We are a long way from the dumb, jingoistic heroics of Armageddon or Deep Impact. The ensemble cast works well, with some familiar faces but no big stars. This makes the fate of each crew member less predictable, which adds to the suspense. The look of the film is worth mentioning, with some flawless special effects. It’s not a perfect film – there’s one very silly plot twist (you’ll know what I’m talking about when it happens) and it does risk descending into pretentiousness towards the end. All in all, Sunshine is an intelligent sci-fi film, something all too rare these days.

[Highly rated reviewer]

Spend time in the Sunshine

Danny Boyle is a director that refuses to be pigeon-holed. Yes, his first few films (Shallow Grave and Trainspotting) had a certain feel to them, but then he sprung A Life Less Ordinary onto the slightly bemused public, and also The Beach. After that he switched to digital film for the gritty and chilling 28 Days Later, before deciding that he ought to make a family friendly film (of sorts) in the guise of Millions. All differently toned films, with differing styles. So, when he announced he was making a sci-fi about a mission to the sun, who knew what to expect? Would it be an action packed blockbuster, would it be gritty 'Alien-esque' tension, or perhaps Solaris-paced cerebral story? The answer is a little bit of all three.

The time is the future, and the Sun in slowly dying. Mankind's last hope for survival is a mission to launch a bomb into the core of our life-giving star and 'jump-start' its heart. Enter the stunning craft Icarus 2, and the on-board team of scientists, pilots, and tech experts. They are truly the planet's last chance, as the previous mission lost contact and vanished. The crew on Icarus 2 are well into their mission, and some tensions and rivalries, along with a few obsessions, have built up. Mace (Chris Evans – almost unrecognizable at the start of the film) and Capa (the ever excellent Cillian Murphy) have a few disagreements, whilst Searle (Cliff Curtis) 'bathes' in the dangerous rays from the sun. It seems, as the crew prepare to enter the 'dead zone' area where all contact with Earth will be lost, that boredom and frustration is settling in. Then, not long after entering the zone, they pick up a distress signal from Icarus 1. This one event triggers a series of problems for the team that may put their mission, their lives, and the fate of all mankind at risk.

Sunshine owes a great deal to films such as 2001, and Event Horizon, amongst others. From pan-shots of the craft moving through space, to the strange events on the Icarus 1, all the moments in the film have some origin in another films elsewhere. However this isn't a bad thing as in Boyle's skilled hands he has built up an impressive sci-fi drama with a cast who (especially in Evan's case) have seemed to step up a gear. The interplay between the inhabitants of Icarus is reminiscent of those of Nostromo in Alien, totally believable and well written. As the events of the film come to pass the relationships are stretched and pulled, and the cast throw themselves into the drama.

This is a film to see on the big screen in order to appreciate the amazing visuals on offer. The majesty of the Icarus is a sight to behold. With a soundtrack to compliment the visuals, the end experience is a good one. Sure, you've seen it all before, but just because you had gateau last week doesn't mean you don't want to eat it again, does it? Treat yourself to Sunshine.

Don't let the sun go down on me

The sun is dying and a small group of people heads towards it in the hope of sending a bomb to its centre and re-starting the fires. For me this was a mis-match film. One minute I was watching a slow moving space movie, the next an average action film, then a below standard horror flick, then a weird journey into supernatural jargon. I have a feeling that the writer couldn't make up their mind what genre they wanted to put this in. Some of it was worth watching, hence 2 stars, but the final outcome is that I won't be adding this to my DVD collection.

[Highly rated reviewer]

ALMOST brilliant sunshine...

As a sci-fi movie the visuals in this are superb, they really get your pulse racing, similarly 90 % of the storyline is similarly pretty good. We did however have difficulty with a couple of things. A) Why any of the ships on a mission to the sun were called Icarus (seem pretty doomed from the start dont they ?) and B) After the meeting with the first Icarus, the lame excuse the writers came up with for them abandoning their mission - what was all that about it just wasn't believable or indeed interesting, it did colour what was otherwise a pretty good movie, and made it slightly naff-ish - but still definately worth a recommendation to watch.... hey we live in Britain, ANY glimpse of sunshine is a bonus !...

Totally pants

What a waste of time, waste of my life, waste of electricity, waste of even writing this review, to save you wasting all this, one bit of advice, don't get this film.

Its just rubbish, weak acting, weaker storyline, the film plods along in a near static state, nothing really happens, you don't care if anything does happen, then when nothing happens, you are surprised you just watched nothing happen!!!

Just Brilliant!

I wasn't sure what to expect when I went to see this, but I have to say I thought it was excellent.

Very well paced - great acting and a superb story line. I was a little nervous that with all the money Boyle would have had to make this film it would feel a bit 'Hollywood', but it wasn't at all. There was still a raw 'grit' to it, similar to the one in 28 days later, when you know that all the characters are scared of what is going to happen and they're trying to be brave.

I would say that the money went into the special effects, which were superb - this film looks beautiful.

This was a great deal scarier than I thought it was going to be, at one point I was hiding behind behind my pick n mix bag.

Perfect for a Saturday night, I definitely recommend that you go and see it.

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SUNSHINE

SLOW START TO FILM. IT REMINDS OF 2001 SPACE ODDESEY WHICH I DIDN'T UNDERSTAND EITHER!

Gaping Plot Hole

The human race faces extiction - there is just one chance to save the world. Surely you'd send your best scientists and astromauts - but no, Danny Boyle sends the inmates of the Big Brother house.

2001 meets Armageddon

There are a few creaky points in the plot, and the science is hokum, but there's loads to love about this movie, from the 'Alien' feel at the beginning to the 'Dr Strangelove' like ending, and the special effects are just superb. I suspect it will lose some of it's impact on the small screen.