“Sunshine? What the heck is that?”
If these are your thoughts as you view the above movie poster, you wouldn’t be alone. For some inexplicable reason, this glorious science fiction thriller, from director Danny Boyle (Trainspotting, 28 Days Later, Millions) has, despite its title, been almost completely kept in the dark…at least here in the United States. I recall seeing a trailer once many, many months ago and was thus suprised to see it suddenly released this past weekend with no fanfare. This type of studio behavior generally signals that a load of trash is about to be released on an unsuspecting audience. With Sunshine, however, nothing could be further from the truth.
To shed a little light on just what this film is, I suggest you first take a look at the trailer. It is one of my favorite movie trailers of the year and should be seen just for the sake of giving some well-deserved praise to the person, or persons, who cut it together:
Now that is out of the way, you know what the whole film is about, correct? Not in the least. This trailer, albiet very well done, is somewhat misleading, as trailers are wont to be. This is not a non-stop action film…it is actually something much, much better. Sunshine is an amalgam of thinking man’s science fiction, slow-burn suspense, and a fair amount of action. Watching this beautifully edited film unfold reminded me that philosophical/religious science fiction, when done well, is every bit as entertaining as the space opera that we have all become accustomed to when we think of science fiction movies.
Sunshine reaffirmed my growing belief that Danny Boyle is in the top tier of directors working today. I’ve enjoyed every one of his films that I have seen. His use of sound, or lack thereof, and the way he presents the images onscreen is both unique and captivating, no more so than in this film. Sunshine is the kind of science fiction idea that seemed very plausible during my youth. The idea that we would not only be venturing farther out into space, but that circumstances beyond our control would force us to venture beyond the moon was very prevalent at that time. The idea of something like this occuring did not seem nearly as far-fetched to my young imagination. To see this unfold on the big screen was so satifsying.
One of my favorite things about this film is the ship, Icarus II, built for the trip to the sun. It has a much more ‘realistic’ look, grounding it more firmly in our time period. Multiple times throughout the film we are given sweeping views of the ship as it hurtles towards its destination and each time it happened I was giddy. The special effects for this film are top-notch.
The cast is great, many of whom I have seen in other films. I initially thought I would spend a great deal of time having “Human Torch” thoughts whenever Chris Evans was onscreen, but thankfully this only happened once and afterwards I was able to focus on his performance for this film alone. Cillian Murphy, Rose Byrne, Troy Garity, Cliff Curtis, Benedict Wong, Michelle Yeoh…I’ve seen them all in other films and I thought they were all very well cast. The roles were written in a much more realistic fashion that I am used to for science fiction. A large cast like this could easily lend itself to one-dimensional roles, but with Sunshine the writers did a much better job at showing the many moods, role changes, etc. that would undoubtedly occur during a 16 month mission in which a group of people were crammed together in a very tight, finite space.
It was fascinating to watch the way Danny Boyle juxtaposed the vastness of space against the very claustrophic environs of Icarus II. This is extremely apparent during the times when various crew members have to be suited up for work outside the station. Those moments are very eerily claustrophic. Set against this backdrop of isolation and confined space, tension and suspense slowly build throughout the film as mistakes are made, things go wrong, and stress increases. I read one review which called Sunshine “knuckle-gnawingly tense and I had to laugh as I noticed several times during the film that I was doing just that. As the credits rolled I realized just how intense the experience was as my body finally started to relax into the chair. It takes awhile to get there, but the action eventually does come and when it does it is nail-biting, to be sure.
Sunshine is a film that I hope will do well but I suspect that it won’t, which is a real shame. It does not carry the broad appeal that more action-oriented science fiction films does, but hopefully word of mouth will allow it to generate some good numbers. Sunshine is a big screen film. The sweeping views of space certainly need to be experienced in the theatre. Sunshine is another Danny Boyle’s winner in my book and I highly recommend you give this one a try.
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And because it is Monday, and I have been gone so long, and because if you, like me are at work and need to be distracted, allow me to share this incredible trailer for Elizabeth: The Golden Age. This trailer was one of the many we saw before Sunshine yesterday and it was one that nearly had me out of my seat giving a standing ovation, it is that powerful. Enjoy, and happy Monday:
I had no idea Sunshine was out already! I hadn’t even seen a trailer for it. I’m a huge fan of Danny Boyle and heard about this one a couple of years ago but hadn’t heard anything since. Can’t wait to see this one. Sounds like it’s up to his normal caliber.
I LOVED this film. The feelings of tension and hope are moving. The images of the sun are breath taking. This movie is magical on the big screen and I hope your able to make the journey on Icuras II.
I will also add the preview for Elizabeth: The Golden Age looks amazing too. It’s so funny I just finally saw the first movie on Friday and now the preview comes out.
Well, I love the poster for Sunshine, and I loved the trailer. And I admit, I’m not much of a movie-goer, but I now really, really, really want to see this! Thanks.
Sign me up for 2 movies on the must see list.
I missed Sunshine when it came out over here. Really wanted to go see it, but for some reason I just couldn’t fit it in.
As for Elizabeth, well I have political issues with her 🙂
Oh, dear…
I’m not far behind enough on my summer movie-going, now I need to add a few more to the list.
Thanks, Carl
;p
I don’t know Fence, Clive Owen is in this baby…I think I’d have to lay my political issues aside for that! 🙂
Of course “Sunshine” isn’t playing anywhere around here. Guess I’ll have to wait for the DVD.
Sunshine sounds wonderful. I wish I had realized it out this weekend; I would have gone for sure. Their task alone sounded fascinating. I had heard very little about Elizabeth – the Golden Age. That trailer looks incredible. And if it has Clive Owen in it I’ll be there.
I saw the trailer to Elizabeth when we went to see Hairspray this weekend and I knew I would have to see that one!
The Sunshine one looks great too.
How was Hairspray, Karen? It looks really fun.
The trailer for Elizabeth looks fantastic, she was a remarkable historical figure.
i was desperate to see “sunshine”! i like danny boyle and i love scifi – sounds like a brilliant match.
sadly it came out in my poor period – which just ended last week, just making me miss “die hard” 🙁
look forward to catching it on dvd though! i’ll check out the elizabeth trailer when i get home.
The trailers for this blew me away, and I was SO disappointed that it wasn’t showing anywhere near me.
I am looking forward to seeing The Golden Age. It looks fantastic. I haven’t seen the first one yet so I have some catching up to do.
Hairspray was an absolute BLAST. We laughed so hard. It made us want to jump up and start dancing. I wish Mary could’ve gone with us. Christopher Walken and John Travolta were quite the hilarious pair. My girls will love Hairspray, too, since Troy from High School Musical is in it.
Hairspray was sooo fun! I wish Mary could have made it. It really was hard to sit still during the non-stop singing and dancing.
I loved seeing all the stars doing something sooo out of character for them. It made me appreciate their acting abilities and that they can sing too.
I could never get past the fact that John Travolta was the Mom. I never just saw a Mom, I only saw him – he was pretty funny. His dancing scenes with Christopher Walken were hysterical. It’s a must see if you like musicals!
thanks for the great review. I always trust your reviews and this one is no exception!
I’d go see Sunshine for Cillian Murphy alone 🙂
He’s in it a bunch, Janet!
Thanks Courtney, let me know if you ever get around to seeing this.
I am so excited to see this movie – thanks for the review! This one really snuck up on me. As you said, there was hardly any promotion. But the visuals I’ve seen are just awe-inspiring, the cast is top-notch, and there’s no genre I like better than science fiction mixed with horror/action, especially when there’s a smart script. Hopefully, I can see it soon and help you spread the word.
I had great pleasure of being able to work on that film in a small capacity (as my employers did the visual effects work) and it’s absolutely gorgeous.
Wow, that is really great Segundus. And I agree, your employers did phenomenal work, it was a truly beautiful film. I look forward to seeing it again on DVD but know it won’t be near as breathtaking not being on a large screen.
Carl,
I’m glad that I’m with you on Transformers, but I’m going to have to agree to differ with you on this one.
I thought this was awful.
Carl, I went to see Sunshine last night and it was every bit as good as you said! I can relate to FINALLY relaxing after the movie was over, it had me on the edge of my seat! Fantastic 🙂
So glad you enjoyed it Janet. I’ve found that most people I talk to loved the first 3/4th of the film and didn’t like the last 1/4th at all. Glad you found it as entertaining as Jeff and I did.