Rent Sunshine (2007)

Excellent SciFi Film - Sunshine review by GI

Director Danny Boyle's existential science fiction epic is often a forgotten gem. With huge nods to 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968), Event Horizon (1997) and some homage to Ridley Scott's deserted corridor shots in Alien (1979) this isn't a film with aliens or space battles but a thought provoking story of a mission to save mankind with a mystery and horror elements thrown in for good measure. In the very near future the Sun has begun to lose its power putting the world into an ice age and humanity on the road to extinction. A huge spacecraft, The Icarus 2, protected by a gigantic heat shield is heading towards the Sun where it will launch a huge device to restart the Sun's waning power. This is the second attempted mission with the Icarus 1 having been lost seven years earlier for unknown reasons. As they approach the Sun Icarus 2 finds the Icarus 1 the decision to divert course to check for survivors proves a fateful decision. It could be argued that narratively the film doesn't offer a fulfilling story but it is still an extremely interesting one attempting to cover themes of the meaning of life, God and the Universe. As things begin to go wrong it is certainly a thrilling story and the visuals are particularly exciting. Written by Alex Garland it has his trademark complexities of plot and theme and the cast are exceptional including Cillian Murphy, Chris Evans, Rose Byrne, Mark Strong and Michelle Yeoh. If you like a good, solid sci-fi film that makes you think a bit then this is well worth a revisit if you had doubts before and definitely worth checking out if you've never seen it.

Decent sci-fi horror thriller. - Sunshine review by CP Customer

This is a pretty decent sci-fi horror thriller which is somewhat reminiscent of the 1998 film 'Event Horizon'. The story's good, the acting's good and the special effects are fairly decent. Well worth a rental.

Overcast - Sunshine review by MR

While this film is well directed (naturally, it's Boyle) and acted, with a stunning soundtrack and visually stunning in places and avoids some of the cliches of the genre, it still felt like it was going through the motions - yet another space movie where the crew divert from their mission (after much deliberation) only to find themselves facing adversity in the shape of a deranged bad guy, with crew members being picked off one by one. The undeveloped nature of the characters and complete lack of any charisma or humour, while probably more realistic for a ship full of space-nerds on a mission to save humanity meant I felt no emotional pull towards them and did not care for their collective fates. Just another film shaped on Heart of Darkness really and not worth a re-watch.

Confusing hokum - Sunshine review by HM

Big bangs and little plot. How can a group of astronauts selected for their intelligence and expertise behave like dim teenagers? Well, it's in the script. Incidents occur that don't make sense. Frankly it is crass. Then, if muddled events are not enough, it dissolves into a slasher movie so we know what happens then don't we?

I fail to see how anybody can swallow this nonsense whole. Boyle has fashioned a Turkey.

Most si-fi novels and movies don't do character development and this is no different. The individuals behave as if from wooden personality central casting.