So the sun's dying out (whaa?), and mankind's last hope is to send a ship with 8 astronauts to the sun to blast a nuke into it. With such an enormous responsibility, shouldn't they act a little more professional? The crew are all like 25-35 years old, act immature and make dumb decisions, fuck things up and argue, fight and bitch at each other the whole movie. One of them has this bizarre moronic fascination for the sun's brightness and decides to look at it at well below the recommended shading. That's just dumb. Why should I feel sympathy for him? What I really wanted to see was what life was like on Earth. I was hoping that would comprise like half the movie, but instead it's just strictly about the crew's mission. I don't really see how that helped the movie any. There's a crazy, unwelcome, unwarranted and seemingly implausible plot twist about halfway through that REALLY proclaims this movie's going down the shitter. Through all the dumb bullshit that happens throughout the movie, really all the mission comes down to is just launching a nuke into the sun. Not so complicated... so, couldn't we just build an automated rocket ship to nuke the sun? I mean. especially seeing as how it's 2057 for crying out loud. But no, I guess the ship full of hormonal bickering kids is the way to go. Oh hey, and there's even some bad science.
Danny Boyle's follow-up to 2005's MILLIONS is this sci-fi horror blend of ALIEN, 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY and EVENT HORIZON. With a pretty good cast, atmospheric visuals, and an intriguing premise, the fact that it devolves into a blood-soaked horror fest is pretty forgivable. Still, doesn't live up to its potential - as either brainy sci-fi, or truly disturbing horror.
So this is the brilliant, genre-exploring Danny Boyle's stab at sci-fi.
Sunshine has a thrilling concept, and there are plenty of thrilling moments indeed, unfortunately I may have gone into it with my expectations too high. The acting is well-done (Cillian Murphy is always a scene-stealer) and there are great shots, and of course great music, I just felt it would have benefited from a slightly more complex internal/psychological angle, delving into the varying character's minds on a deeper level...rather than all the dramatics. Boyle being one of my favorites, I can't help but expect perfection.
Though I was enjoying it, the luminously gorgeous final scene ended up being the reason I would recommend it.
Danny Boyle doing what he does best: genre-hopping and genre-conquering. A genuinely creepy space opera that admittedly gets derailed at the end. But the cast is top notch and your eyes will burn for days.
Sunshine, Danny Boyle's Alien (minus the title creature), is a terrific example of how Boyle and Alex Garland can pull together to create a film that's both stunning on a visual level, and well paced at the same time. With the Sun quite literally the centerpiece of the film, the entire concept is a canvas of endless possibilities, and Sunshine seems to understand that and use it to its advantage to tell very engaging story. Easily the most underrated film of 2007, and a must-see for fans of Boyle's work, namely 28 Days Later.
Wow. An intelligent movie, and serious movie with perfect casting, and beautiful visuals. Everyone was pitch perfect, but Hiroyuki Sanada's performance really rocked. I loved this cast! I feel like everyone involved in this film treated the audience with so much respect.
A Great Sci-Fi movie, most Realistic to now. I love Sci-fi movies cuz they are endless cuz its in scape. a funny Title "Sunshine" sounds like a gay movie. But the movie is cool eniway. This is more better than the 2001 movie.
When I first heard of this film, I thought it would be right up my alley. Something about the sun dying and a group of people heading out to restart it, directed by Danny Boyle and starring Cillian Murphy? Sold. I thought I?d love it, but I only ended up liking it.
The film started out well enough, setting up the story and where things stand. As usual, Boyle is on his game displaying some of the best visuals in cinema today. He always finds an interesting way to show you things and this movie is no different. The massive ship traveling towards the sun is both beautiful and awe-inspiring. It?s mentioned in the film that the remaining members of humankind pulled together the last of Earth?s resources to build and fuel this giant and it shows. It?s basically the culmination of human achievement. The characters are introduced and we?ve already got tension as things progress.
Then somewhere towards the 3/4 mark it sort of lost me a little. The introduction of a saboteur whom the camera couldn?t focus on was a little interesting, but mostly irritating. I felt the effects on this guy were totally unnecessary. The film takes an abrupt turn from sci-fi / drama to horror / thriller and it?s not an easy change. The entire ending wasn?t horrible, but I wasn?t too thrilled about this change. The very end was good though and worth the trip. The last scene is just one of those inspirational type closings. It was a perfect way to wrap things up.
Sunshine is definitely worth checking out. While I had some issues with certain parts of it, it?s really a movie that any sci-fi fan would enjoy and I?m definitely included in that group.
Danny Boyle- a director whose movies have been hit or miss with me. However, this movie takes it place up there and the man can do no wrong simply because of this genius creation! It is essentially another film in the style of Armageddon or Deep Impact, apart from that it is more about the crew onboard the ship rather than the actual disaster. Also, I?m impressed by how Boyle manages to change the pace of the movie. Firstly, its slow pace and then suddenly its fast and then it calms down again. Then, you start to feel safe again and there?s suddenly a murderer trying to sabotage the mission and who clearly hadn?t heard of using sun cream. The special effects are pretty good and the cast are fairly unknown albeit it Cillian Murphy and Chris Evans, and this only helps because you feel closer to the characters because they seem more like ordinary people. Although my parents hated it and said that nothing happened for the whole film, I think they are failing to see the beauty of the movie and the underlying issues that were in the storyline. In other words, this isn?t just a story about a mission to reignite the sun and save the Earth. It is also a story of human courage in the face of adversity and also, if you want to get technical, about the fragile nature of our very existence. A truly beautiful movie.
im no fan of sci-fi thrillers and it didnt do anything to change my opinion. in the relms of abyss it did nothing different in its storyline approach, being almost predictable at times. oh and... no fucking scientists are that good looking, cool and would make a simple mistake to get the 'one thing after another' story rolling.
A masterpiece. Director, Danny Boyle has crafted another brilliant and visionary cinimatic classic. A real knock out. It returns to what Science Fiction was meant to be. A rare story with a fine calibur of characters, development of storytelling and great filmmaking. Thrilling, pulse-pounding, gripping, spellbinding and exhilerating. Absoultely extroadinary and incrediably powerful. It's superb, teriffic and fantastic. Jammed with great, heart-pounding speacial effects and riveting performances. Cillian Murphey, Rose Byrne and Chris Evans give dynamite performances. Proving there to be three of Hollywoods most promising and amasing rising superstars. Deeply moving and breathtaking. Truly spectacular, stunning, unforgettable and tremendously entertaining. An enormously absorbing, compelling, nerve-wreckingly tense, original and mind-blowing edge of your seat ride. A total blast.
This film is highly flawed. I didn't hate it as much as I felt sorry for it. "Look at all this science" and then "forget all that science, we're in horror film!" It is disjointed and predicated on a ship full of smart folks making a really stupid decision. I'd say avoid unless you like watching stuff on fast forward.
Had a predictable ending. I knew what would happen, however it was well made and had a few twists along the way that I couldn't possibly have saw coming. Definitely worth watching once... though it is more graphic than I would have liked at times. I jsut really like Cillian Murphy.
Everyone loves a good 'End of the World!' story. But this one is different. The reason being? It's actually a masterpiece! Pure genius.
The story is deeper then you'll realise. Different meanings, questions about life and death, the human race as a whole and hidden messages etc etc. Listen to both commentaries and you'll understand and appreciate it more.
I rented this becasue i couldn't find anything else at the time. Now it's in my top 5 favorite movies! Good times.
Sci-fi in the movies today is apparently less about ideas than about dressing up predictable plots with dazzling sights and sounds. And why has the fate of humanity been put in the hands of a bunch of college-aged kids?
well executed and intense genre film. How do you go about explaining concepts far and above the average person? In this case, the science rules leaving people guess how this works and what they are seeing onscreen. Boyle does a great job keeping this ship on course.
I'm not one to be into sci-fi movies, but this sci-fi thriller I thought was absolutely great. Beautifully filmed. Very intelligently made. A movie about selflessness and selfishness.
*When the crew enters Icarus 1 and frames of the first crew start popping is pretty scary (kind a freaked me out). Oh, and Chris Evans should choose more roles like the one in this movie.
It would have been more than a 4 star if it didn't have an ending heading towards cheap action / hollywood movies. Still worth watching it. The 1st hour reminded me of Solaris.
MCT:August 19, 2008
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