Sunshine (2007)
From director Danny Boyle, Sunshine is a sci-fi film that offers rich visuals and (for the most part) a compelling narrative. The film however stumbles during the final stretch, and doesn’t quite make it to the finish line as a great film.
The plot is thus: it’s 50 years into the future, and the sun is dying. To prevent that from happening, a spaceship carrying a massive payload is sent towards the sun, in the hopes of re-igniting the sun with a massive blast. The ship, Icarus II, is actually the second to be sent on such a mission: its predecessor–the original Icarus–failed the mission, and Icarus II is Earth’s last chance.
As Icarus II approaches its final destination, the crews pick up a transmission from Icarus I. Apparently the ship has been in orbit around the sun. Out of curiousity and out of “logic” (two bombs are better than one, or so the reasoning goes), the astronauts decide to change their trajectory to rendezvous with the older spacecraft. This adjustment, of course, sets forth a chain of events that offers a lot of thrills and chills. As well as a lot of sunburns.
Essentially, Sunshine looks and feels like a mashup (as goes the popular web2.0 term) of sci-fi classics such as Alien and 2001. (Some of the scenes are indeed homage to those great films.) The film’s stunning visuals are meant to inspire imagination, as well as perhaps stimulate thoughts on timeless philosophical questions (what is “existence” etc.). Some elements of the plot will also no doubt generate a lot of discussion, such as one crew member’s obsession with the sun (he ends up enjoying an over-intimate relationship with the sun). The final act of the film is very much a slasher horror, thogh it doesn’t work out very well and shuts down the film.
The film’s ensemble cast deserves some praise, despite flaws with the plot. It’s an international cast (perhaps with box-office considerations), with 3 East Asians including Michelle Yeoh. Cillian Murphy (who I’ve seen before in Batman Begins) is the lead, with strong support from Chris Evans. Cliff Curtis offers one of the most memorable roles, as the afore-mentioned crew with an unhealthy obsession. The characters are all quite fresh and lively, and easily memorable, despite the limited screen time that most of them gets. And it’s especially enjoyable watching them interact straight from the start and discovering their personalities gradually, as the film cuts straight to the chase in its opening, with backgrounds and intros kept at a absolute minimum.
It’s sad, therefore, that a film that had such a strong opening gradually loses control as it progresses. I didn’t like the slasher horror segment, as it was not well done in the first place and also was out of place. It did serve as an explanation for some earlier events, but surely there are other ways to fill up the gaps.
Still, based on its first two thirds, the film is hard not to like, and perhaps still worth seeing, if not just to end up pondering afterwards how it could have been better.
7/10