Review of Sunshine (2013) by Jason D — 18 Aug 2015

Totally different tonally than what I was expecting. I was thinking a fast paced action film, especially if helmed by Danny Boyle. But only in the last third, after a twist some will surely hate, does the cinematography become Boyle-like.

Before that, it is a ponderous, exposition heavy, middlebrow Kubrick type of film that takes its seemingly ludicrous premise filled with pretty obvious scientific inaccuracies (though, interestingly, it gets a few things right that so many space sci-fis get wrong) and fills it with deadly seriousness.

This tonal mismatch seemed to come through in the acting, which in general was not very good. The kind of a jerk action hero guy was the best actor in the piece, which is odd considering the emo angle this took.

However there's still a lot to like. There's a very good emotional metaphor about becoming one with God that plays throughout the film and gives it a good artistic grounding. Also, the visuals are compelling, especially if you know that it's totally against the typical Boyle style.

In the end, yeah, it's worth a look. Maybe not a masterpiece, but it avoids disaster.