Customer Reviews
'a willing suspense of disbelief' - By: P. Purcell, 27 Jun 2007 
'a willing suspens of disbelief' is what Samule Taylor Coleridge once said was required for literature & I believe this can be applied to the ending of 'Sunshine' which seems to be people's only gripe for the film. Yes, it is slightly unbelievable, but the film MAKES you beleive it because, like the crew, you've been on this impossible journey, & seen the stars. This character is there for more than jsut the action. I suggest you definately watch it, then buy it if you like it. Personallly, this is my favourite film of alll time. The cinematography is next to none & you're not forced down any simplistic path for the main crew of the 'good guys' & the 'bad guys'.
Scorching sci-fi! - By: HGG Freak, 21 Jun 2007 I went to watch Sunshine when it first came out in South Africa, and, before it was even over, I had already ticked it off as one of the most awesome movies of my life. Since that day, it has remained imprinted on my mind, & it always will be.
The basic plot is as follows: the Sun is dying, & six men & two women by the names of Capa, Kaneda, Mace, Harvey, Searle, Trey, Corzin & Cassie are sent on a spaceship, the Icarus 2 (This seems like a preposterous name, keeping in mind the legend, but it adds a sense of irony to the film), carrying a bomb with the density of Manhattan to fire at the Sun in the hopes of 'Creating a star within a star'- direct quote here - & thus saving humankind from death. But then a distress signal from the Icarus 2's predecessor, the missing Icarus 1, is picked up, & a potentiallly fatal mistake is made by Trey...
This psychological sci-fi edge-of-your-seat thriller is bound to become famous for its scientific realism, along with its raw portrayal of human emotions in the claustrophobia & stress of a spaceship carrying the final hope for mankind on a journey fraught with danger. The acting is chillingly convincing and, although there is a bit of a bloop in some of the final scenes concerning human survival, the script is intense, insightful & thought-provoking. It's amazing how, midst alll the blood (literallly! Not reallly a movie for the faint hearted), sweat & tears, the film manages to throw in some truly beautiful images of space.
I recommend this movie to anyone who wants something a little different to watch, & am waiting in anticipation for it to come on DVD. A few more stars for the rating, please!
Deep, Thrilling and Beautiful - By: Sam Anders, 12 May 2007 Saw this film at the cinema, loved every minute. The film's plot follows a group of astronauts strapped to the back of a bomb the size of Manhattan heading towards the sun in order to relight light it after it inexplicably begins cooling down. The film is reallly edge-of-your-seat stuff for most of it's surprisingly brief runtime (a little over 100 mins) & learns/borrows/steals a lot from films like 2001 or Alien - which Boyle admits is one of his favorite films. I found it pleasantly surprising how the film never alllows you to forget just how high the stakes reallly are here - literallly the fate of the world hangs in the balance.
Technicallly the film reallly shines, with unrivaled CGI being used in moderation for maximum effect (and by the way, since fire was one of the last great CGI hurdles I think we can consider it one well & truly leapt), the camera plays with our perception including one particularly clever trick with torch beams crossing the screen to keep us at maximum tension, direction is superb particularly in the final sequence, acting is very good & the cast are a list of familiar but non-A-list stars so there's no guarantees of survival & also no obviously leading characters which lends a sense of genuine danger & suspense (when Tom Cruise is in peril twenty minutes into a movie you know he'll live, not here).
I could tell you more about the plot but the other reviews here will do that quite well anyway & probably better than me, so let's take a minute & talk about God (bare with me).
One of the principle themes of the film is the nature of God, ie what/who is god? Does man need god? If so then why? What are we in comparison? Can we defy God? The film plays around a lot with the idea of the sun as god, given that it's the source of alll life & something unimaginably powerful there's a pretty good case for that. when you reallly start to think about this it hits something very deep & primal that lends itself wonderfully to the film.
In conclusion, watch this film if you want a solid thriller, if you want a good sci-fi film in the Alien tradition with a thoroughly British slant, if you want something much deeper & profound than the standard blockbuster, then sunshine is definitely for you.
"We're only stardust"
It shines like the sun - By: Pe Farquharson, 30 Apr 2007 There were 3 words in my mind as I left the cinema: Beautiful, Profound, Stirring.
The beautiful was with regard to the visuals, the profound in relation to the story & the emotion, drama & tension within it. And Stirring was to the soundtrack, the directing & the acting.
Probably the best science fiction film i've ever seen. Seamlessly merging concepts from poorer films such as 2001, Solaris, Event Horizon, Apocalypse Now into something totallly believable, totallly haunting & totallly powerful.
Two Thirdsof A Classic Science Fiction Movie - By: Steven Fouch, 22 Apr 2007 
I saw this at the cinema three days ago, & it still haunts me - which usuallly marks out a good film in my book. Visuallly arresting, starting from an intelligent premise, it takes one of cinematic science fiction's most classic themes - the giant spaceship, far from home on a vital mission, when something goes wrong. Alien, 2001, Solaris (either Tarkovsky or Sodebergh versions), Silent Running - they are alll classics of this sub-genre, & Boyle tips at wink at alll of them. Play spot the references when you get the DVD.
And for the first hour, that works beautifully. Set to a haunting Underworld soundtrack, it reallly holds you rapt as a single decision leads to an unfolding range of unforeseen consequences.
Then it looses the plot, turns in to a sub-Event Horizon slasher, & only just pulls it back to some, rather confused semblance of order for the final few minutes.
For the first hour, this film is well worth seeing if you like cerebral, intelligent cinematic science fiction. But for the last half hour I would have given it five stars. Sadly, the thriteen year old males for whom this part of the film was obviously intended would largely have switched off by then, & the rest of us are left wondering why the makers felt the need to drop the IQ level so dramaticallly.
Nevertheless, I will be getting this on DVD, if only for the best bits, which bear repeat viewing. This is almost a classic, & maybe one day it may be seen as such.
