Sunshine

Never mind that according to the scholarly press, Sunshine is science fiction with the most scientific and technical nonsense in years, because Danny Boyle's extremely evocative direction trumps every plot misstep. Whether it's the scene of adjusting the solar filter, repairing the protective panels, or the impressive flyover of Mercury silhouetted against the backdrop of a hot solar disc, Boyle has managed to awaken in me what I last experienced with Zemeckis' Contact: a fascination with space. And surprisingly, even the killer "zombie" at the end, whose existence in the film is so criticized, didn't bother me at all. On the contrary, with his "role" as a self-proclaimed god, he gave the film a tantalizing mysterious dimension. A must see if possible in the cinema, this is an audiovisual juggernaut designed for the big screen. (09/05/2007)

Visually impressive and with a very unconventional premise, but the end result is unfortunately somewhat mixed. Thank God it's not about philosophizing on the origin or decline of humanity (although someone occasionally utters something along those lines), but rather a fast-paced and intriguing sci-fi flick with a few truly action-packed and intense moments. Surprisingly, there is a lack of scientific jargon and analysis, which is good because viewers usually have a hard time understanding them. The problem are the characters, they are only superficially sketched and we don't really learn anything about them. Then there’s the unnamed immigrant, who sticks out like a sore thumb, and it’s precisely because of this that this solid sci-fi film loses most of its attractiveness and appeal, as towards the end it becomes just clichés and a cat-and-mouse game. Despite this fatal flaw, I must say that it is a very unconventional work and as such it cannot be rated merely average. (05/02/2007)

Sunshine can ignite many emotions in the viewer, whether it's fear for the success of the mission, sympathy towards certain characters, admiration for others, or being moved. It was precisely the latter that caught me in two brilliantly composed and emotionally overwhelming scenes. If Sunshine is the film of the year in something, it's the atmosphere. Boyle played with many genres and wrapped the resulting mix in a golden cover with a pessimistic touch. The result is something that probably has no equal and that everyone should see and interpret for themselves, whether it's for the better or worse, because otherwise they have no chance of understanding what I'm talking about. (06/15/2007)

Out comes the sun and dries up all the rain... If it weren’t for the needless screenwriter excess toward the end, Sunshine would have been a very good and intelligent catastrophe sci-fi picture. This way it remains “just" in the very good picture category. That excess is all the more disappointing because due to it the movie undergoes a pointless and demeaning complete change of genre for about ten minutes; such a good screenplay deserved a better idea. Boyle played around a lot with the visuals and it is really surprising to see just how many shades of yellow exist. The soundtrack is rather unusual, but the ambient harmonies of Underworld complements the overall atmosphere curiously well. Sunshine could have easily slipped into a deluge of pathos, heroic speeches and lots of clichés... But it didn’t and, thanks to it focusing on the excellently played characters, it remained teetering on the edge of intelligent popcorn movie cut with a picture with greater reach i the style of A Space Odyssey. And that’s really good. ♫ OST score: 4/5 (04/20/2007)

This movie really got to me. Because I'm the kind of guy who thinks a lot about the end of the world. How it's going to look. What exactly is going to happen to us? One of those considerations, of course, relates to the extinction of our sun. That big yellow ball I curse on these hot days. Danny Boyle, a director whom I didn’t know very well up until now (of course I'm going to change that now) literally glued me to my seat and dazzled my eyes with breathtaking visuals and great direction. The actors were also perfectly cast. I'll just mention the brilliant Cillian Murphy and the surprisingly great Chris Evans (this guy has a promising future ahead of him, I'm keeping my fingers crossed). What more to say. Best movie I've seen so far this year. (06/15/2007)