Movie Review: 'Sunshine'

Dropped right into the… ahem… story from take-off, Sunshine allows little time to acclimatise to proceedings.

Opening 20 months into a mission to our dying sun, we find those charged with delivering a nuclear payload the size of Texas in a state of unrest.

The brightest men and women on the planet they may be, but they are nevertheless human and suffering from cabin fever, paranoia and a serious fear of failure.

And failure is not an option, seeing as the future of mankind rests on the success of their mission. Simply holding onto their sanity may prove as difficult a task as kick-starting the soon-to-be-dormant star.

More science-fact than science-fiction, Sunshine takes great pains to be realistic despite its fantastical setting. Okay, so you couldn't actually fly to the sun but, c'mon, you've got to be willing to suspend your disbelief at least a little.

You may also need that disbelief to accept that a team of uber-intelligent science geeks could be so young and good looking. A stellar ensemble cast led by Chris Evans ( Fantastic Four ) and Cillian Murphy ( Batman Begins ), the Icarus II's international crew also includes Hiroyuki Sanada ( The Last Samurai ), Rose Byrne ( Troy ), Cliff Curtis ( Whale Rider ), Troy Garity ( Bandits ), Benedict Wong ( On a Clear Day ) and Michelle Yeoh ( Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon ). Well cast for their parts? Yes. Scientists? I don't think so.

Technically perfect, Sunshine features spectacular special effects on a comparatively shoestring budget. The sound design is also second-to-none, with a loud and invasive soundtrack made up of unusual and unsettling sounds. This sense of unease pervades throughout and is augmented by sudden subliminal shots and eerie enveloping shots of the surrounding and infinite space.

It's clear that everything has been painstakingly designed and created specifically to construct an all-encompassing sense of distress.

Of course, being that this is a Boyle et al production, Sunshine is not the traditional style-over-substance space adventure. With acknowledged nods to 2001: A Space Odyssey and Tarkovsky's 1972 Solaris , there is plenty of intelligent life apparent under the surface sheen. Posing important questions about man's relationship with nature and the universe, the spiritual versus the scientific, there is plenty to ponder with no definitive answers offered.

Further obvious influences are Ridley Scott's original Alien and, gulp, Paul W.S. Anderson's Event Horizon , especially as Sunshine enters its slightly disappointing third act. Without wanting to give too much away, much like Boyle's last effort 28 Days Later , Sunshine radically shifts its focus and tone towards the end to a detrimental effect. The sheer fact you can mention a Paul W.S. Anderson movie in the same breath is testament to this, but rest assured it never compromises its quality to quite that level.

A fine film in desperate need of a better final act plot device, Sunshine is nevertheless a welcome addition to the sci-fi space movie canon, and further proof that Boyle can work in pretty much any genre he pleases to masterful effect.