Ok, this isn’t anything new, I’ve mentioned this movie several times and just recently watched it with some friends.  So I thought I should give it its own review.

Directed by Dany Boyle (Slumdog Millionaire, 28 Days Later), written by Alex Garland (also wrote 28 Days Later and writing the 2012 announced Halo movie), staring Cillian Murphy (Scarecrow) and Chris Evans (Push).  Released back in July of 2007, this movie went mostly unnoticed, but garnished some good reviews under its own merit, as well as getting a bit more popular with Boyles Slumdog success.

The plot is thus, in this futurity global climate change isn’t just a theory, the sun has started to die and the earth has steadily cooled to a point where mankind wont survive unless something is done.  Icarus 2 is home to seven crew members who shoulder the responsibility of saving humanity by restarting the sun.  This will be done with a fusion bomb that has a mass equivalent to Manhattan Island.  This is our last chance with such a Hail Mary attempt, because the Icarus 1, which was supposed to carry out this same task, disappeared 7 years ago on its journey to our star.  So the story begins.  I’ll leave you to watch it if you haven’t already, I still have a lot to say.

As far as sci-fi goes, Sunshine operates on many levels.  We have the sun, which is more beautifully depicted in this movie than it ever has (you must watch this on Blu-Ray to capture the movies true essence), the spirituality that goes along with this giant ball of gas, as well as the psychological effects it reeks on a mind being so near it.  The crew, on a multi-year mission, the most dangerous parts being cut off from any communication from Earth, their utter reliance on each other providing critical roles to saving the world and the raw humanity that comes out of that mix.

The major theme I draw out of this literally bright movie, is that the human spirit, while weak and fragile, can come out as conqueror over any obstacle.  How audacious is the thought that we could travel 92.9 million miles, deposit the most massive fusion bomb ever conceived and thus save our world from the natural death of our life giver?  It shows utter disregard to the greatest force within thousands of millions of miles from our lonely planet.

*SPOILER ALERT*
Yet despite this wanton treatment of such awesome power and magnitude, we are shown that only through the greatest sacrifice might we even stand the chance at such an immense journey.  Perhaps the most marvelous frames from an already magnificent display of images comes at the very end, when Capa (Murphy) is able to do what only he could and initiate the process of creating a star within a star to save humanity and are taken beyond the metaphysical boundaries as he stands just beyond the surface of this fresh sun, marveling towards it.  Of course we know such a thing is impossible, and as Jordan exclaimed, “He’s dead!”
*END SPOILER*

It is truly hard to separate this movie from the resplendency it conveys during so many different scenes.  My favorite is when the crew is given the treat to watch Mercury cross in front of the Sun, a black disk painting its way through a molten sky.  As a lover of all things in space, I emotionally connect to this moment and can only imagine a crew having such overwhelming feelings of awe.

There are a few things that bother me about this movie though, mostly coming from my scientific mind.  As a true student of physics and a major fan of manned space flight, there are some fairly bright plot points that fail miserably, but despite my utter frustration at these obviously flawed events, Sunshine is great.

Here are a few screens…

The sun seen from the observation deck of the Icarus 2.

Ladies and gentlemen, Mercury.

A good shot of the Icarus 2 approaching the chromosphere.

AMAZING!