Review of Sunshine (2013) by Evan M — 21 Sep 2012

Sun reignition; this does indeed sound like a job for the Human Torch! Speaking of which, what do you get when you assemble Scarecrow from "Batman Begins", the Human Torch/Captain America, Smiley from "Training Day", Nicolas Cage's wife from "Knowing", the girl from "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" and Lord Blackwood from Guy Ritchie's "Sherlock Holmes" and fire them all into space to hurl a bomb into the sun in hopes of saving all of humanity? You get either one weird superhero film or just another movie named "Sunshine" that tosses Mark Strong in from out of nowhere at the last minute. Calm down, people who don't feel like watching another uneven three-hour drama, because this film is quite a ways away from István Szabó's 1999 film of the same name, being instead a sci-fi thriller and character piece that stars Cilian Murphy and is directed by Danny Boyle, produced by Andrew Macdonald, written by Alex Garland and scored by John Murphy. Wow, forget "28 Weeks Later", because this is the real sequel to "28 Days Later". I guess Boyle figured that he may as well get the rest of the "28 Days Later" team back together if he's going to do a sci-fi thriller, and if Andy Macdonald's gonna come back because, well, Danny Boyle gets him money, and because he wanted to do something credible-seeming after his brother Kevin made him feel inadequate by doing "The Last King of Scotland" in 2006, and figured that this film would earn him some respect among the art crowd, seeing as how Boyle cited that it was influenced by such sci-fi classics as Ridley Scott's "Alien", Andrei Tarkovsky's "Solaris" and Stanley Kubrick's "2001: A Space Odyssey". Don't worry people, this film isn't quite that slow, yet don't exactly rest all that terribly easy either, for although this film is a good one, and a worthy true sequel to "28 Days Later", it doesn't exactly make it out without its fair share of burns.

With all of the deep character studies that Danny Boyle managed to wrap up in just barely over an hour-and-a-half, it seems a bit strange that it's the study upon people floating around the sun and trying not to die that clocks in at just under 110 minutes, yet when you get down to the final product, the runtime isn't strange, oh no, it's gratuitous. Through excess material, a bit a filler and maybe even a touch of repetition, this 90-something-minute-long film pads out to a fair bit past 100 minutes in length, and it's only a matter of time before the film's being overlong becomes all too glaringly obvious and leaves steam to dilute, especially when things don't just fill up, but slow down. I joked that this film isn't quite as slow as its influences, - Ridley Scott's "Alien", Andrei Tarkovsky's "Solaris" and Stanley Kubrick's "2001: A Space Odyssey" - and it isn't, as it rarely, if ever descends as low as dull, yet there are still points in which bite goes restrained and leaves the film to momentarily limp along just long enough for you to notice the padding and become a bit disengaged, surprisingly not to where your attention falls out of the film, yet still to where you'd be hard pressed to not feel the desire to check your watch. Of course, slowness isn't the only note that this film takes from its influences, as the film, even with its unique areas, bites off more than it can chew as an homage, not so much to where it feels as though it's ripping off films like "Alien", "Solaris" and "2001", but to where it feels either too conventional or too proud of its influences for its own good, or rather, to be its own fully uniqe vision. As I said, there's still quite a bit of uniqueness to this film's vision, and just enough to keep it from feeling too "been-there-done-that", yet there are still major points in story, plot, theme and tone that feel overly influenced, or even conventional, if not all-out cliche, to the point of leaving the film to not only feel a touch under-assured of itself, but become a bit predictable. Still, it's not like the film needs the padding or blow to self-assurance to not bite all that firmly, as this film is what it is, and what it is is a perhaps too brief sci-fi blockbuster, even with all of its heart. However, that being said, even with its conventions and natural shortcomings, this film isn't exactly your usual blockbuster, standing secure as genuinely rewarding and even generally engrossing, thanks to what it is so confident about, whether it be heart or what uniqueness there is, or, of course, style.

One of the few people behind "28 Days Later" who hasn't returned, cinematographer Anthony Dod Mantle takes a breather and leaves the job of translating Danny Boyle's brilliant stylistic visions in the hands of Alwin H. Kuchler, who does indeed have hands worthy for the job, occasionally delivering on the usual Danny Boyle-esque slick shot, yet generally absorbing lighting and color with striking detail and radiant artistry that absorbs grit during the darker moments, spectacle during the brighter moments and overall awe at any moment, thus making for stunning photography that does about as effective of a job of placing you in this world as the strikingly clever and unique sound design that amplifies the immersive sounds of the environment around you, plunging you into the heat of the moment. Boyle and his boys deliver as always when it comes to immersive artistry and style, and when it comes to the spectacle of blockbuster, something that Danny Boyle had never and has thus far not again done, the technical team continues to the deliver, providing phenomenally convincing and dazzling visual effects that make the style all the more striking and leave this world to further go sold. I joke about how this film is pretty much Danny Boyle going back to the days of "28 Days... Later" and all that stuff, but really, this film stands as further evidence of how Danny Boyle might very well be one of the most versatile filmmakers in the business, being unlike anything he's ever tackled before and since, not just thematically, or tonally, or, to a certain degree, stylistically, but even musically, as this film marks Danny Boyle's first and only to feature a soundtrack containing very little, if any mainstream tunes (There is an unbearably annoying, terrible song at the beginning of the credits and a decent yet kind of dull song at the body of the credits, so don't worry too much, unless of course you have a better taste in music than Danny Boyle) and rely soley on score work, and John Murphy makes that, as well as what is, at least for now, his final collaboration with Danny Boyle, count, delivering on his usual unique dynamicity and grandness that, when married with the fittingly techno-poppy sounds of electronic music group Underworld, creates yet another fine effort by Murphy that supplements both style and substance effectiveness. Style and sharp technical value breathe life into this project, yet there would be no substance for the style to supplement were it not for the inspired writing of Alex Garland, who may take more than he should from his and Boyle's influences, yet generally builds quite a bit of uniqueness and quite a considerable amount of intriguing intelligence around the story, as well as engaging characterization, made all the more effective by the people behind the characters, as this film puts its colorful cast of talents to good use by giving most everyone his or her time in - dare I say it? - "sun", and he or she make it count with compelling charisma, broken up by powerful emotional layers that establish human depth, and with it, emotional resonance within this story. Still, when you get down to it, what might very well be the finest and most effective performance is the key one by a person who stands behind the camera, for although Danny Boyle's vision isn't without its flaws, style isn't the only thing that Boyle delivers on with potent inspiration. With all of its slow-downs and not-so-engaging moments, the film rarely, if ever loses your attention, let alone your investment, as Boyle manages to draw consistent intrigue to sustain your attention, and breaks that intrigue up with moments of airtight tension during the grittier moments, as well as with effective emotional resonance during the dramatic moments, from the consequence-solidifying first death to the bittersweet ending. Boyle can only do so much to banish this film's natural shortcomings, much less its momentum-damaging faults, so the final product certainly doesn't come out to be as excellent as I'm starting to make it sound, yet compellingness builds and builds as the film progresses, and by the end, you're left with a pretty memorable blockbuster, which isn't to say that the film ever falls too short, having enough consistent style and intrigue - nay - compellingness to it for you to stick with it through and through, and come out the other end genuinely more rewarded than not.

Overall, through excess material and a bit of filler and repetition, the film goes padded out, which is a flaw made more glaring by slow spells that dilute the impact of the film, whose momentum goes further slowed down by the story's plummeting too deeply into into is own homages, if not all-out cliches, as well as by the story's simply not having a whole lot of upstanding bite to it, thus making for a final product that could have been just another blockbuster, yet ultimately transcends that through stellar style and visual effects, as well as through generally strong, intelligent writing and characterization, brought to life by a myriad of inspired performances, the most inspired of which being the directorial one by Danny Boyle, whose gracing the atmosphere with potent emotional resonance to break up progressively building intrigue helps in making his "2001: A Solaris Alien Odyssey"-I mean, "Sunshine" a primarily engrossing sci-fi blockbuster with intelligence, depth and overall reasonably strong satisfaction value.

3/5 - Good.