Director Danny Boyle is known for his knack of switching genres on a hatpin, one of Britain’s most successful directors of the past ten years he is someone who’s output is always interesting and who’s desire to test out new waters is admirable is a culture where ‘stick to what you know’ is often the mantra. After the Gritty drama of Trainspotting, the dark humour of Shallow Grave, the family friendly Millions and the horror of 28 days later, he now turns his hand to Science Fiction, a genre cruelly under utilised in recent years at the box office, intelligent sci-fi even more so. The story concerns a team of astronauts who set out to fire a massive nuclear bomb into the to sun to try and ‘re-ignite it’. You see the sun is dying and without this mission all hope for life on Earth is lost.
We start the film with the mission already in motion, much in the vein of films such as Alien and 2001 this is a film as much about isolation, paranoia as it is whizzy technology. The ship itself (the Icarus, naturally) it refreshingly low-tech, it feels real and lived in and is a way away from the clean futuristic sheen found in most sci-fi nowadays. The crew is an interesting bunch, the most recognisable name is probably Cillian Murphy again impressing in another quite different role though the dynamics and performances throughout are excellent and there is a real sense that these guys have lived together for all this time. Naturally things don’t go to plan and as the ship approaches the sun the pressure greatens on the crew, the power and beauty of the sun is a repeated theme throughout the film and the way it is shot is stunning. In fact the film itself is a visual treat, created on a fraction of the budget of most Hollywood blockbusters Sunshine is a masterclass in visual management, the searing rays of the sun are perfectly captured and one sequence set on the outside of the ship is stunning.
That the film shifts gears fairly dramatically towards the end comes as a bit of a shock to the system, I won’t spoil anything but it feels like a bit of a step down to more traditional fare and the ambiguous and downright bizarre ending will alienate as many as it pleases. Still even with these slight flaws this is an excellent, intelligent film that manages to cobble together elements from loads of other science fiction films and yet create something new and exciting. Always fascinating this is a brave effort that has hidden depths beyond the surface.
A successful blend of intelligent sci-fi coupled with Boyle’s unique vision make this one of the most interesting and debatable films of recent years. Stunning to look at and thought provoking to the, admittedly less successful, end.
Director Danny Boyle is known for his knack of switching genres on a hatpin, one of Britain’s most successful directors of the past ten years he is someone who’s output is always interesting and who’s desire to test out new waters is admirable is a culture where ‘stick to what you know’ is often the mantra. After the Gritty drama of Trainspotting, the dark humour of Shallow Grave, the family friendly Millions and the horror of 28 days later, he now turns his hand to Science Fiction, a genre cruelly under utilised in recent years at the box office, intelligent sci-fi even more so. The story concerns a team of astronauts who set out to fire a massive nuclear bomb into the to sun to try and ‘re-ignite it’. You see the sun is dying and without this mission all hope for life on Earth is lost.
We start the film with the mission already in motion, much in the vein of films such as Alien and 2001 this is a film as much about isolation, paranoia as it is whizzy technology. The ship itself (the Icarus, naturally) it refreshingly low-tech, it feels real and lived in and is a way away from the clean futuristic sheen found in most sci-fi nowadays. The crew is an interesting bunch, the most recognisable name is probably Cillian Murphy again impressing in another quite different role though the dynamics and performances throughout are excellent and there is a real sense that these guys have lived together for all this time. Naturally things don’t go to plan and as the ship approaches the sun the pressure greatens on the crew, the power and beauty of the sun is a repeated theme throughout the film and the way it is shot is stunning. In fact the film itself is a visual treat, created on a fraction of the budget of most Hollywood blockbusters Sunshine is a masterclass in visual management, the searing rays of the sun are perfectly captured and one sequence set on the outside of the ship is stunning.
That the film shifts gears fairly dramatically towards the end comes as a bit of a shock to the system, I won’t spoil anything but it feels like a bit of a step down to more traditional fare and the ambiguous and downright bizarre ending will alienate as many as it pleases. Still even with these slight flaws this is an excellent, intelligent film that manages to cobble together elements from loads of other science fiction films and yet create something new and exciting. Always fascinating this is a brave effort that has hidden depths beyond the surface.
A successful blend of intelligent sci-fi coupled with Boyle’s unique vision make this one of the most interesting and debatable films of recent years. Stunning to look at and thought provoking to the, admittedly less successful, end.
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