I'm sure many reviews will say something similar: This is two-thirds of a great sci-fi movie. Specifically, the first two thirds. Natural characters, intelligent dialogue, stunning visuals; I was thoroughly immersed in this philosophical disaster movie in space. Heck, even the moody, modern, sentimental score worked.
The central premise concerns humanity's last hope for survival: the Icarus II (EXTREMELY dumb name for a ship travelling to the sun, if you remember the Greek legend), whose crew must re-ignite said star with a nuclear bomb the size of Manhattan island. It's distant future stuff, but the filmmakers work hard at establishing plausibility. They certainly achieve it. Impressive.
Cast-wise, it's an eclectic group. Cillian Murphy gets the starring role, and he's good. Maybe it's just me, but he always looks slightly psychotic - something to do with the eyes perhaps? Anyway, he's a quirky and soulful leading man.
Nice work by Michelle Yeoh, Rose Byrne and Cliff Curtis. Not one weak link in the multinational cast.
I thought Chris Evans stole the acting honours. Despite his character's hot temper, he gave gravitas to every decision, and they included some pretty big ones. He's the pragmatic member of the group; logic's on his side, and he knows it.
The introduction of Icarus I to the second half of the story (the previous ship that mysteriously failed) is not handled particularly well. The crew's decision to deviate from the mission is a poor one, and has disastrous consequences. Later on, a horror element is introduced which is just laughable. All the filmmakers' hard work peters out in a third act of blurry shots, shaky cams and incomprehensible cuts.
Overall, 'Sunshine' is a real mixed bag. Director Danny Boyle and his cast work hard to create a believable scenario. The special effects really are special. I think the fault here lies with writer Garland, whose third act is derivative, contrived, and not worthy of the rest of this fine film.
The central premise concerns humanity's last hope for survival: the Icarus II (EXTREMELY dumb name for a ship travelling to the sun, if you remember the Greek legend), whose crew must re-ignite said star with a nuclear bomb the size of Manhattan island. It's distant future stuff, but the filmmakers work hard at establishing plausibility. They certainly achieve it. Impressive.
Cast-wise, it's an eclectic group. Cillian Murphy gets the starring role, and he's good. Maybe it's just me, but he always looks slightly psychotic - something to do with the eyes perhaps? Anyway, he's a quirky and soulful leading man.
Nice work by Michelle Yeoh, Rose Byrne and Cliff Curtis. Not one weak link in the multinational cast.
I thought Chris Evans stole the acting honours. Despite his character's hot temper, he gave gravitas to every decision, and they included some pretty big ones. He's the pragmatic member of the group; logic's on his side, and he knows it.
The introduction of Icarus I to the second half of the story (the previous ship that mysteriously failed) is not handled particularly well. The crew's decision to deviate from the mission is a poor one, and has disastrous consequences. Later on, a horror element is introduced which is just laughable. All the filmmakers' hard work peters out in a third act of blurry shots, shaky cams and incomprehensible cuts.
Overall, 'Sunshine' is a real mixed bag. Director Danny Boyle and his cast work hard to create a believable scenario. The special effects really are special. I think the fault here lies with writer Garland, whose third act is derivative, contrived, and not worthy of the rest of this fine film.