REVIEW - "Sunshine" (2007)

“Sunshine” is a solid movie that suffers the same fate Danny Boyle’s “28 Days Later” suffered, just not to the same extent. In “28 Days Later” director Danny Boyle gave us a decent zombie flick with our characters on the run instead of holed up in a shopping mall somewhere. However, the movie fell apart halfway when they bumped in to a lone military group. Suddenly everything about the movie changed and it didn't match the first half. This happens again in “Sunshine," but to a lesser extent since it doesn’t happen right smack in the middle of the film. Otherwise it’s a thoughtful and rather well made film about the argument for, and against, human life and whether or not it is up to us to keep existing.

The film takes place many years in the future of course. The sun is dieing, and seven years ago Earth sent the shield ship Icarus 1 to reignite the sun. The mission failed and Earth lost contact with the ship. Now a second ship, Icarus 2, has been sent and they come across a distress signal from the Icarus 1. In their attempt to go check it out the Icarus 2 withstands heavy damage and a few surprises lead to a disastrous flight in to the sun.

“Sunshine” thrives on very strong characters lead by Cillian Murphy as Capa, the physicist, and Chris Evans, the computer maintenance officer, Mace. All the characters are very different and seem to value different things. Capa is a character that likes to observe more than act. His input is rare, unless asked; he reluctantly makes decisions he believes are right, but oppose his own feelings. Mace is always thinking of the bigger picture. He sees himself, and the crew, as disposable. As long as they complete their mission their lives don’t matter. Whoever is the more important crewmember has priority over others. He’s pretty straightforward and kind of a jerk, but he’s not a villainous character you hate by any stretch. In fact he’s one of the more interesting characters in the film and Chris Evans ends up out-performing most of the cast.

Cassie is a character that values individual life as much as the entire spectrum. She knows her mission and she knows what the bigger picture is—But her ethical decisions are much different from the rest of the crew. Some could say she is the most innocent and hopeful of the characters. Searle, the resident psychiatrist of the ship, has a fascination with the sun that seems to mirror what happened to the crew of Icarus 1. He’s engulfed in the beauty of it, but has been damaging his own skin from observing it so much.

So why is it important that all these characters believe different things throughout the course of their mission? The film thrives on the concept of human life and its importance. Is it right to weigh one life against billions? It seems logical, but when asked to vote for the killing of a crewmate Cassie says, “I understand the logic, but no.” And in the rather unmotivated twist toward the end, the movie speculates whether or not it is up to humans to continue surviving when it seems our time is up. Should we just accept what seems to be our fate? Or is it worth the hassle of pressing against some higher force in order to survive? If we succeed, does that mean we were meant to survive anyway? It’s an interesting commentary the movie has within itself and it certainly does a fantastic job with giving you different enough characters to take sides with.

The film, however strong it was, takes a turn in to mediocrity toward the end. It went from being a great sci-fi picture to a decent one when a rather expected surprise happens. The film transforms from a thrilling drama in to a “something’s-on-the-lose-in-a-space ship” movie in no time. The transition is a bit abrupt and it seems so out place. I understand what Boyle was trying to do. I even understand what he was trying to do when he pulled this stunt in “28 Days Later.” But the fact is it just doesn’t work to turn a movie in to a different movie in the last twenty minutes. I suppose I was able to withstand it more since he has done this before and I did enjoy the new point that was brought in—But it was underdeveloped and needed a better transition if it was going to happen.

Despite the odd turn “Sunshine” still gleams pretty well. The character strength is maintained throughout the entire film and it’s probably the most thought provoking film people could see this summer. However, it hurts to know that it could have been a greater movie had it not transformed in to a space-thriller we’ve seen so many times before. It’s worth seeing though. It even may be worth more than one viewing simply for all the ideas running amok. Just don’t expect the originality to last.

*** out of ****