Sunshine takes place fifty years from now; the sun is dying, and mankind is dying with it. Our last hope: a spaceship and a crew of eight men and women. They carry a device which will breathe new life into the star. But deep into their voyage, out of radio contact with Earth, their mission is starting to unravel. There is an accident, a fatal mistake, and a distress beacon from a spaceship that disappeared seven years earlier. Soon the crew is fighting not only for their lives, but their sanity.
Dany Boyle,the director, has mention 2001, A Space Odissey and Solaris as two of the inspirations behind Sunshine and it shows. The film can only be described as an epic sci-fi extravaganza. Everything about it screams epic, the sets, the special effects, the atmosphere, the soundtrack, everything. It's one of those films that aims at being something more then just a film. I'm not saying it manages to do so, but it certainly tries hard. And the film is never pretentious in any way. I think Boyle was trying to create something beautiful but despite his efforts the film felt somewhat short. Let me be clear about this, Sunshine is a great piece of work, just not the masterpiece it seems intended to be.
Some of the criticism has been related to the fact that Sunshine turns into something similar to a slasher film in its final third. At least for a little bit. And I have to agree with this criticism. It seemed a little out of place with the overall theme of the film. Apart from that, there's not much you can criticize. Clearly a lot of thought was put into this film and the direction is impeccable. The cinematography is awe-inspiring and the soundtrack extremely fitting. The acting was superb as well, real solid work with Cilian Murphy standing out.
Some have interpreted Sunshine as an atheistic film while others have labeled it a spiritual odyssey. There's certainly no denying that the film is about the origin of the universe despite it being masqueraded in a very entertaining and well-put together sci-fi plot. As an interesting side note, I read that Boyle is religious and he interpreted the story as a triumph of faith over science while Alex Garland, the main writer is an atheist and saw the film as a triumph of science over faith. I, myself I'm an atheist but I think the film can be interpreted both ways and because of that will probably please a lot of people. All in all, it's not the masterpiece it could have been, but I highly recommend Sunshine. Certainly a must-see for sci-fi fans.
7.5/10
Dany Boyle,the director, has mention 2001, A Space Odissey and Solaris as two of the inspirations behind Sunshine and it shows. The film can only be described as an epic sci-fi extravaganza. Everything about it screams epic, the sets, the special effects, the atmosphere, the soundtrack, everything. It's one of those films that aims at being something more then just a film. I'm not saying it manages to do so, but it certainly tries hard. And the film is never pretentious in any way. I think Boyle was trying to create something beautiful but despite his efforts the film felt somewhat short. Let me be clear about this, Sunshine is a great piece of work, just not the masterpiece it seems intended to be.
Some of the criticism has been related to the fact that Sunshine turns into something similar to a slasher film in its final third. At least for a little bit. And I have to agree with this criticism. It seemed a little out of place with the overall theme of the film. Apart from that, there's not much you can criticize. Clearly a lot of thought was put into this film and the direction is impeccable. The cinematography is awe-inspiring and the soundtrack extremely fitting. The acting was superb as well, real solid work with Cilian Murphy standing out.
Some have interpreted Sunshine as an atheistic film while others have labeled it a spiritual odyssey. There's certainly no denying that the film is about the origin of the universe despite it being masqueraded in a very entertaining and well-put together sci-fi plot. As an interesting side note, I read that Boyle is religious and he interpreted the story as a triumph of faith over science while Alex Garland, the main writer is an atheist and saw the film as a triumph of science over faith. I, myself I'm an atheist but I think the film can be interpreted both ways and because of that will probably please a lot of people. All in all, it's not the masterpiece it could have been, but I highly recommend Sunshine. Certainly a must-see for sci-fi fans.
7.5/10