Sunshine
Boyle proves that he knows how to create experiences that deal with extreme contrasts as well as scenes that portray utter lifelessness.
Review by Sirus

“Sunshine” straddles the genres of horror and science fiction. Some could call it a sci-fi film with a dash of horror while others might call it a thriller with a sci-fi premise. Either way, “Sunshine” succeeds at gripping the audience and making their ride through this otherworldly setting something they are unlikely to forget in the near future. The premise of the movie is one of the only things in it that are formulaic. In typical sci-fi fare, we are told that the sun as we know it is dying and mankind has one singular hope for survival. The crew of a spacecraft on its way to the sun hopes to set off a bomb that will cause the recharging of the sun before it dies for good. The crew has set off on a journey spanning multiple years and despite all the time they have already spent to get to this point, they are still optimistic. As they get closer and closer to their final goal, things start to go wrong little by little. The crew is faced with the realization that they must do whatever it takes to make sure they succeed at the mission, even if it means making a few sacrifices. The tension builds gradually to keep the audience interested until the mayhem starts. The sequences towards the end are some of the most deeply disturbing and terrifying scenes I have seen in a movie that isn’t really marketed as a horror movie.

The director of “Sunshine”, Danny Boyle, delivers on an experience that, while it may feel similar to his most widely known previous movie, “28 Days Later”, far surpasses it in every aspect. In “Sunshine” Boyle proves that he knows how to create experiences that deal with extreme contrasts as well as scenes that portray utter lifelessness. The characters in the movie show a depth of human emotion and character rarely seen in film. Cillian Murphy especially does a fantastic job as the ship’s physicist Capa. Considering the fact that I expected “Sunshine” to be another run of the mill sci-fi flick, I was pleasantly surprised when I was deeply disturbed by the chain of events. The movie manages to show the fragility of human consciousness when faced with unimaginably horrible situations. Anyone looking for a good horror movie who doesn’t mind the sci-fi premise should do themselves a favor and check out “Sunshine”.

Final Score: 4.5/5