Review of Sunshine (2013) by Lewis E — 10 Aug 2014

While it doesn't eclipse 'Gravity', 'Sunshine' is in the same ball park in terms of its visual spectacles. It manages to utilise the space/sun environment, creating a number of entertaining scenarios whereby the cold space atmosphere and the intense light/heat from the sun inevitably becomes a fatal factor. Similar to 'Gravity' though, some of the technical difficulties and general problems our crew encounters feel contrived. Subsequently, the movie can feel like a simple routine of moving from one foreseeable disaster to another. Another thing is it doesn't build tension well, a detail which is vital when it comes to these isolated settings. I never experienced much suspense because the movie was too obvious in showing which characters were going to die at any given moment. However, the proper faulty areas is the weak character interaction or development, and shoddy directing when it comes to the climatic scenes. No interesting relationships have been established even though the crew have been travelling in space together for an extensive period. This movie had strong foundations for recreating an epic 'Alien' or 'Dead Space' style sci-fi psychological thriller/horror. Annoyingly, it did not explore the adverse psychological possibilities that existed with this premise and thus fell in line with the more generic disaster movies. Danny Boyle (director) also frustratingly incorporates blurry lenses, quick flashes and awkward camera angles for the action, making it extremely difficult for the viewer to keep track of the characters and their situation. Furthermore, the conventional melodramatic soundtrack is used as a lazy method of injecting tension and emotion, almost reflecting a realisation that the actual plot and actors were insufficient in creating tension themselves.

Sunshine scrapes the three stars almost purely because it provides a great cinematic experience. However, it is dimmed by its a few poor directing choices, mediocre script and lack of notable characters.