I was frustrated by this movie. Maybe I was supposed to feel that way, but I didn’t enjoy it. Creepy and haunting. Sigh. What a waste.

Title says it all, really.

In Sunshine, a science fiction flick directed by Danny Boyle, a group of astronauts from the not too distant future are on a mission to drop a bomb on the sun in order to kick-start it and thereby save the world. A previous expedition had apparently failed, and we understand early on that this mission is Earth’s last hope. Along the way, the crew encounters the first ship’s distress beacon and decides (disastrously of course) to rendezvous with it.

I live in a small country where we get whatever films the one movie theatre company decides we should see. I’d seen trailers for Sunshine and was surprised and pleased that we were going to get what looked like a great science fiction movie. When I showed up at the cinema, I had only a vague idea of who was in the movie and no idea who directed it.

I wish I’d looked into it a bit more before shelling out the bucks. If I’d realised that Danny Boyle (Trainspotting, 28 Days Later) was the director, I probably would have skipped this film. I am not a fan of horror or action movies, but I don’t mind a bit of relevant action or creepy goings on in a sci-fi.

The cast of characters is an interesting ensemble of not-quite-big stars.There are some outstanding performances juxtaposed sadly with some very flat characters. I could have overlooked this but for a ridiculous turn of events in the last third of the film that completely ruined it for me.

Yes, the film is visually striking, and the camera work innovative, but I need a screenplay that I can sink my teeth into, and I felt frustrated and disappointed when I left the cinema.

imagine your watching a documentary on the discovery channel about the NASA space station, but instead its an hour and thirty minute movie that happens to be directed by danny boyle. it is particularly stunning and beautiful. the best part about all of this is that it has cliff curtis in it.. you might remember him from planet terror, and the last die hard movie. and watch it on IMAX ok

There’s nothing like a sci-fi film in space: the impossibility of giant tin cans floating in the void and the people stuck in them. Danny Boyle’s Sunshine is the latest addition to the genre. It’s a visually stunning film, first of all: spaceship interiors floodlit and bleached orange by the sun, golden shields rotating in space, creepy subliminal flashes, plus a damn good-looking cast (Michelle Yeoh! Rose Byrne! Cillian Murphy!). The sun is apparently dying, and an intrepid (of course they’re intrepid) multicultural (of course they’re multicultural) team of astronauts are burdened with dreams of the apocalypse (of course they’re burdened with dreams of the apocalypse) and a bomb the size of Manhattan, which they plan to drop on the sun to create a new star. (My students, who apparently know better, told me it wouldn’t work.) Alas, all this agreeable tension gets ejected into space after the introduction of a total wild card in the third act, which subsequently turns the film into something it shouldn’t be. (Plus you don’t put Michelle Yeoh in a film and not have her kick some ass.)

I’d been anticipating Sunshine for a while and wasn’t completely sure what to expect and at times the film had me off-balance (which I liked). I’ve enjoyed everything that Danny Boyle has done and this time he reworks the sf genre in a story that is mainly more philosophical science fiction with some thriller elements thrown in. The pacing and rhythms are different with the film and the constant presence of the sun is beautiful. It wasn’t until after the film that I really started to think about the effects as I just was thinking about the sun, which is a testament to seamlessness of the effects.
Cillian Murphy is great to watch as usual and there is a understated quality to much of the interaction and storytelling that I appreciated. While I wouldn’t say that it’s my favourite Danny Boyle film, it had some great touches and I kept thinking about it for days afterwards. It’s thoughtful sci-fi that doesn’t condescend, but does entertain and provide some things to think about.

why anyone’d name a sun-bound craft “Icarus”, I mean sure, I get the humor of it. Maybe.

Far as the flick goes: Interesting premise + excellent effects = possibly very awesome scifi …bogged by mediocre (pretty cast, but you can’t further the story with pretty) acting & predictable plot. Translation? What tf.

Some of the cast have big titles under their belts – Hiroyuki Sanada (Tasogare Seibei? Fncking brilliant!), Michelle Yeoh (cmon, tell me you’ve never seen CTHD) especially. Ok, put Cillian Murphy in there for his ok work in the Batman reboot. So when you see them muck about, it hurts just a little.

Recommendation: Wait for this on vid, or second run theatres. If you just have to screen outer space scifi, choose Solyaris or even Solaris, and you’ll have a much better time of it.

Well the movie, Sunshine, brings some new air into the genre I think. But at the end, like the last half hour, was predictable and it seemed to me very long. I was asking myself, if the movie is long enough for the characters to blast the bomb. Well they did it, which was another disappointment, I thought it’ll end like this. It would be interesting if they couldn’t do it, or so. You know, apart from the fact everybody died, it was happy end.

Watched it on my laptop, so I can’t really judge the audiovisuals but I was disappointed.

Why do they need to change the genre of the movie from a Sci-Fi thriller to a – possibly – a Supernatural movie in the end?

The flashes when they first looked around the Icarus I was freaky. Scary and all.