Review of Sunshine (2007) by Kevin J — 16 Apr 2012

Danny Boyle has made a career out of thoughtful and daring dissections of miniature societies. Shallow Grave showed us three friends whose mistrust isolates them; The Beach is about a utopian society; Trainspotting puts us in the illustrious midst of heroin addicts; 28 Days Later simply reduces the population to a handful of folks.

So here's Sunshine, a film about a group of elite scientists on a long term space expedition in tight quarters. That the mission is to re-start the sun is typical sci-fi mumbo jumbo; it's immaterial, since the story is about the behavior of these characters and about their dedication to something larger than themselves.

It is intense, it is well acted, it is beautiful to look at, seeming to truly take inspiration from films like Alien and 2001 without aping them. The only thing that keeps the film from greatness is the final act; it can be analyzed, and is not without merit, but when broken down, it's hard not to wonder if they couldn't have given us a more original plot twist.

..or at least one that made sense.