by Chad Cowgill

Created on: November 01, 2009

Sunshine is a 2007 film directed by Danny Boyle. It is a movie that has not garnered much attention and that is a shame. The sun is losing its power and therefore the earth is slowly freezing. Astronauts have been sent to restart the dying sun by getting close enough to shoot a nuclear bomb into the sun. One group of astronauts already failed at this mission, so in the movie we are following the second set of astronauts on board their space shuttle, Icarus II.

The film spends most of the movie focusing on the inner turmoil of the astronauts. Each character has a defect and this causes conflicts amongst the astronauts as they try to make decisions that could either save or destroy the entire world. Toward the end of the movie, the ship is sabotaged and the story line becomes a fight of survival. We see what characters have the ability to survive and focus on saving the earth at the same time.

Some people do not appreciate the change from psychological thriller to action thriller, but I think the change is warranted not only as a plot device but also to bring out the courage in the characters and to be the final, largest challenge.

The music in the movie is fantastic as well as the visual scenery of the sun and the space ship and the sheer monstrosity of space. The acting is simply amazing and shows that a movie does not need a big A list actor to justify the acting of those with lesser credit histories surrounding him/her.

The script allows every character to get an equal amount of screen time so we can learn about what makes each character tick and what drives them to succeed in their mission. The character flaws and personality differences allow us to get at least a glimpse at what it must be like to be in space for years without your family and with only a few other people for interaction.

Some characters find solace in books or in the garden, other characters are on the brink of being a little bit crazy. Together, they form a team and are able to work together. Some of the weakest members become the strongest, while the strongest personalities make mistakes and do not live up to their expectations.

The conclusion is satisfying and shows the endurance of humanity against evil and insurmountable odds. I recommend this movie to any science fiction fans and I am sure it will make it into your top three list for the genre.

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