Sunshine (2007)

Best sci-fi disaster film to date.

This movie is what Mission to Mars and Red Planet should have been. What Sunshine is essentially is a disaster movie in space. Astronauts on a critical mission go through a number of catastrophies in order to survive long enough to complete said mission. While this has been done before from movies like the financially successful Armageddon to all the way back to the 50's with movies like Destination Moon and Rocketship XM. Sunshine is the best of such movies ever made (unless you count 2001 as a space disaster film).

What makes Sunshine stand apart is how much attention was put into the visual aspect of the movie. This film is just beautiful, and you would be doing a disservice to yourself if you do not get it in high defintion. The lighting, cinematography and camera views are all done very artistically and give you a very immersive experience. Sound is just as immersive with environmental noise going on all around; a definite treat if you have surround sound as it is on through the entire movie.

Most disaster movies focus more on the spectacle of destruction instead. This one is more focused on the characters and how they respond to each crisis situation, including the personality conflicts. In turn you get a script filled more with tension than comedy relief or melodrama. It helps that the acting is rock solid for this sort of thing. Cillian Murphy comes out with a better performance than he had from his two Batman movie appearances. Garity puts a subtle intensity in his role and Chris Evans plays his character's self preservation instincts with precision.

Now the reasons I think this film is great are likely the same reasons why many people don't like it. There are no thrilling action sequences to speak of. No super-flashy special effects or visual hooks that most Hollywood films rely on to catch your attention are here either. This is a movie where you experience the environment more than the spectacle. It's more cereberal than visceral. In this format it excels. If you're looking for another Trainspotting or 28 Days Later you will be sorely disappointed.

Interestingly enough the plot twist near the end of the movie, which gives a bit of the visceral action and thrill, is what people who love the movie seem to hate the most. If you ask me the twist is not that big of a deal, but I think it's probably too much of a change for those people.

As I mentioned before if you are going to buy this movie it's best to get it on Blu-Ray (assuming you have a BR player). The 1080p viewing is well worth it as well as the surround sound experience. Also the Blu-Ray has a few features that aren't on the DVD release. Here's a list of features:

Commentary by director Danny Boyle and science advisor to the film Dr. Brian Cox - Informative without being too much. You can tell Danny really enjoyed making this movie.

Deleted Scenes - There are about 18 minutes worth of deleted footage you can check out with director commentaries.

Web Production Diaries - Think of this as the making of documentary. It's all 22 web features that cover various parts of the creation of the movie.

Two Short Films - The first one is Dad's Dead and it's a rather twisted animated short film. the second is Molehills which is... well images of mole hills. Danny Boyle does an introduction for each short explaning his interests in them.

PiP Feature - This nifty little feature is one of the Blu-Ray exclusives and when it's on it pops up a window while you're watching the movie that details some aspect of production. It doesn't come up through the entire movie, but when it does it is informative.

Journey into Sound - Another Blu-Ray exclusive. This feature gives you a chance to remix the audio tracks of the movie if you have 5.1 surround and your Blu-Ray has version 1.1 firmware or higher. Sure it's a gimmick, but it's a neat one.

High Def Movie Trailer - Exclusive to Blu-Ray. Technically this isn't a special feature, but considering all of the other features are in standard definition having the trailer in high def is actually pretty cool.

This movie is not for everyone and I don't think it was ever meant to be. If you like the kind of science fiction that draws you in and even makes you think a little this is the one for you. If you want a no-nonsense popcorn movie then you may find Sunshine boring. As for me I took a chance in spite of some negative press and ended up loving it.



August 12, 2008

One of the greatest

I'm not sure why anyone would give it any lower rating than a 5 star, but this is a great movie, one of the greatest ones in movie cinema so far.
This movie will leave you thinking about humanity and its actions long after you've finished it. There are no other words to describe the movie, you simply have to watch it. August 12, 2008

She Was Hit by Space Junk

Never thought I'd get the chance to use the lyrics from a Devo song in a review. Never say, "never."

I'm no fan of Danny Boyle (act accordingly). Apparently, I don't think like the masses (which is a good thing). I thought TRAINSPOTTING was really quite boring. It's not a bad film, it just doesn't do anything for me. I absolutely loathed 28 DAYS LATER. I was waiting for the horror, which never came. And when the protagonists arrived at the soldier's compound and things started going bad, I mumbled, "this is a rip-off of Romero's DAY OF THE DEAD. But, without any humor or horror," and I walked out of the theater. To be fair, I watched the entire film years later on Satellite. I wished I was still in the theater so I could have walked out again. I don't understand the fanbase and accolades that this director receives. Or why he has such a large head. I still don't get the appeal of his movies. I had no idea he directed this until after it was over and I started researching it. Because I had to know who to direct my anger at. If I had known it was a Boyle flick, I would have turned it off and saved myself a lot of misery. This flick is so awful, it did not surprise me one bit that Danny Boyle was at the helm. It's time the Studios threw him overboard. Before he sinks another ship. Or, send him hurtling into the Sun before he sets off another stink bomb. There's a reason this flick bombed in the theaters. It's terrible!

I was right about Boyle being a rip-off artist. Everything you've been reading in the negative reviews is TRUE. This movie has stolen set pieces and sequences from 2001, EVENT HORIZON, and ALIEN. And how anyone can compare this to the original or the brilliant remake of SOLARIS is beyond me.

I have no idea why reviewers are making apologies for the actors in this. The performances are terrible.

The science is this film is a mixed bag. The basic premise of this film is hardly believable. The Sun is too dense to hold a theoretical Q Ball. And, if a Q Ball did attach itself to the Sun, it would not cause the Sun to fizzle out, it would only make it hotter. We would burn up long before the Sun started to cool down. A nuke would not reignite the Sun. It would take billions of them. Nor would it have any effect on a Q Ball. However, some reviewers are wrong about a human being not surviving exposure in a vacuum. It is possible as long as the human body does not hold its breath, and is not exposed to vacuum for more than about two minutes. However, you would not instantly freeze like one of the characters did in this film. And your eyeballs would boil, not freeze. Those of you that are saying the film is "fiction" and are comparing this to STAR WARS, your argument is moot. STAR WARS is pure Fantasy. Or, Space Opera. This film presents itself as a realistic Sci-fi Drama and switches gears midstream into the Horror genre. You can't compare apples and oranges.

If you don't take my advice and you end up watching this lowbrow space junk, make sure you look directly into the Sun and burn out your retinas. You're gonna wish you were blind when you view the final 30 minutes of this schlocky Sci-fi Horror tripe.

This film receives NO STARS. However, I do give it FIVE NEUTRON STARS for collapsing on itself.

As John Denver said, "SUNSHINE in my eyes can make me cry."

Danny Boyle is The Ultimate Rip-off Artist! And, he has a giant basketball head with its very own gravitational pull. I guess this why I keep getting sucked into his films.

AVOID THIS LIKE THE PLAGUE. August 10, 2008

Visually Stunning

One of the most visually stunning movies I've seen in a long time -- it's kind of the antithesis to Inland Empire (Lynch) which is all about dark. This is all about Light - Sunlight to be exact .. it's use and philosphizing about the effect of so much sun is quite amazing.

Yes -- a real mission would be a bit more military then scientific - and of course you don't deviate from the plan -- but, once you get past the bad leadership of the captain - you are along for such a beautifully concepted and shot movie you will be amazed.

We rented it yesterday and I am buying it today - and I'm not a collector (outside of nature docs & Surf films :-) August 3, 2008

Smart Science Fiction with An Excellent Cast

Among the reviews posted here, I see several complaints about unfavorable comparisons to "Event Horizon" and sci-fi disaster movies. While there are certainly some plot elements in common with "Event Horizon" and the general category of space disaster films, "Sunshine" belongs more to the genre of "2001: A Space Odyssey" than anything else. It's smart, character-driven science fiction - not a festival of explosions for their own sake, and I think it succeeds very, very well.

"Sunshine" has an excellent, if lesser-known-in-the-U.S. cast. (Although it's likely that viewers will recognize many of actors' faces, if not their names.) It's great to see Hiroyuki Sanada, Michelle Yeoh and Cliff Curtis all getting meatier roles than they usually receive and making the most out of the opportunity. Cillian Murphy and Rose Byrne are both quite good as well, but to me, the real surprise was Chris Evans (of "Fantastic Four" fame), who, it seems, can actually act with some depth.

Visually, the movie is beautiful, and director Danny Boyle makes the sun a palpable presence in every scene. The indescribable power of our star and its effects on the human characters are major elements of the story, and it creates an atmosphere that is simultaneously beautiful, terrible and oppressive. The ending is a little more Hollywood than the rest of the movie, and "Sunshine" deserves a better finish. That said, the drop-off is only enough to change my review from five stars to four, and I recommend it highly.

Fans of movies like "2001," "Outland," "Silent Running," "Alien" and the director's cut of "Blade Runner" (without the hand-you-the-plot-on-a-platter voice-over) are likely to enjoy "Sunshine." Viewers looking for purely passive entertainment and/or who prefer having everything explained explicitly will probably be less happy. Grade: A-. July 20, 2008

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