SUNSHINE
Danny Boyle tackle's science fiction in an interesting but inconsistent film that arrives on a pretty good disk.
Directed by: Danny Boyle Written by: Alex Garland Starring: Cillian Murphy, Rose Byrne, Chris Evans, Michelle Yeoh,Hiroyuki Sanada,Benedict Wong,Cliff Curtis,Troy Garity,Mark Strong, Chipo Chung (voice) Distributed by Fox Searchlight Pictures Available at Amazon for $10.49 RIGHT NOW. Available at Play.com for £4.99 from May 19th 2008! Review by Michael Kaminski
rating: 3
Danny Boyles latest pic SUNSHINE is an entertaining science fiction film that offers much promise, goes halfway there but then chickens out just when it begins to get interesting. The film is original in that its not based off a former work but it certainly feels assembled out of parts of other sci-fi cornerstones: namely SOLARIS, with touches of ALIEN, 2001, and even the save-the-world blockbuster ARMAGEDDON. Theres this strange undercurrent in the film that weve sort of seen the whole thing before. The plot revolves around a group of people on a mission to detonate a nuclear bomb on the dying sun and thus re-generate it; a crew attempted the same mission seven years earlier but they mysteriously vanished. En route to the sun, around Mercury, they discover the derelict spacecraft of their predecessors, and wrestle with cabin fever, tragic accidents and the mysterious nature of what the sun actual means. While the content of the film has been done before, director Danny Boyle gives it a flair that still makes it seem fresh. His repertoire is certainly nothing to sneeze atTRAINSPOTTING is still considered a classic of independent cinema, and though his THE BEACH has been (unfairly, in my opinion) maligned, he bounced back with one of the horror genres most delicately crafted character dramas in 28 DAYS LATER. With a terrific visual eye and a sensitive preoccupation with real characters, the phrase directed by Danny Boyle should be more than enough reason to see this film. SUNSHINE has its share of memorable scenes; the film is at its best when it is dealing with images and ideas, creating visual tone poems and pondering about the mysteries of the universe. There are few films daring enough to even go near stuff like this, let alone briefly revel in it. But alas, though the films presents a few interesting concepts, it never follows through with them, and this is the films ultimate failure. A promising beginning turns into hackneyed running through corridors and detonation countdowns. The film also falters on its characters, most surprising given that this is where one would expect Boyle would elevate the film the most. Whats there is mostly of the high quality that weve come to expect (and admire) of Boyle, but the script allows very few scenes to reveal their intimacies or explore their relationships in any kind of complex sense. It is, however, great to see Michelle Yeoh in a film that doesnt involve period dress or martial arts, and by far the best character is the most underused, the noble captain played by Hiroyuki Sanadastar of the beautiful character piece TWILIGHT SAMURAI, one of the best films I have ever seen. While I may have a lot of complaints about the film, this is only because what is there is so good that its frustrating to see the film jettison so much of its potential. The script comes across like a typical sci-fi thriller, while Boyle seems more interested in visual lyricism. But whatever forces were pulling the film in different directions, the film is not a true success to any of them. It has neither the suspense of ALIEN, the mystery of SOLARIS, the thoughtfulness of 2001, the visual poetry of THE FOUNTAIN, or the human characterization of any of Boyles previous films. But it almost ties them together. Almost. When the film succeeds it is beautiful, exciting and marvelous, and there are enough of these moments to make the film worth watching. I only wish there were more. The Video: I imagine transferring this film must have been a bit of a challenge, with its constant fireballs and white-washed overexposure. Sunshine comes with a more or less solid picture, though if you want to nitpick I could detect the most subtle of compression artifacting at times. But detail is great, whites are whites and colorsnamely the orange and gold fireballs throughout the filmare reproduced well. The movie looks slick as it should. The Audio: The soundtrack to this film is impressive, with an aggressive dynamic range and a well-used surround mix. It sounds clear and sharp, and effects and music do not battle for dominance but balance themselves nicely throughout the scenes. The Extras:SUNSHINE comes on a single-disk with a modest assortment of extras. First is Danny Boyles commentary track, entertaining as usual, but a more creative route is taken with a second commentary track by some scientist. There are deleted scenes, and an alternate ending thats really just the same ending edited less effectively, all with optional commentary from Boyle. The production is covered in a handful of featurettes originally made for the web which give a short but sweet look at the film and its players. An unusual choice is the inclusion of two short films that have nothing to do with the film (though one was made by a crew member). They are presented here becausewhy not? Short films are rarely seen, and DVD offers a good opportunity to fill out some disk space with extra entertainment pieces. The films are creative and worth watching. Overall, SUNSHINE is a good movie, but one that you cannot help but be disappointed in for not going all the way with its ideas. In this day and age its a rarity to have an intimate character and concept-based sci-fi film, and by the end of SUNSHINE youll be reminded of that but simultaneously admire the film for what it nonetheless was able to achieve. Good video and audio and a decent pile of extras make this a deserving rental.