Seen: Augut 2nd, 2007
Format: Theater
Rating: 8
I rushed to see this film in the theater before it left. It didn't have a long run, and I almost missed it. I managed to catch the last show on the last day in the megaplex. I really glad I made the effort.
I really want to rate this a 9, but can't really justify it. I love Science Fiction, and there are so few decent films made in the genre that any that are decent, tend to make me a a bit soft hearted. Sunshine is much more than decent, and I want to give it full marks, but realistically there are a few flaws.
But first, the good stuff. This adjective I keep coming up with for this film is majestic. Like many successful films in the genre, this film does an excellent job capturing the majesty and rapture of space. There's no fighters zipping around in dogfights here, just a crew on a mission in a large, slow craft, making their way inexorably to the Sun. There's a sort of reverence here that's refreshing and awe-inspiring.
The visuals here are stunning. They're simple and very effective and remind me very much of films like 2001 and Silent Running. The sense of scale is vast and though the ship is huge, it's appropriately dwarfed by its environment and the scale of its mission. The characters too, are only small parts in a much larger whole, and we're constantly reminded of that.
The pace and tone of the film are excellent and seem so appropriate for the mission. Things move and develop slowly. I wasn't in any rush to know everything, but instead was willing to wait for things to unfold in their due course. There's plenty to experience, even though the story itself isn't in a big rush.
The science part of the film seems relatively solid. Evidently the film had a strong consultant, and though some elements seem a bit far fetched, the plausibility required for investing yourself in the film is present. There were a few plot holes that nagged me briefly, but were generally easy to forgive.
Acting was surprisingly good. The film is full of B+/A- actors and they all do very admirable jobs. This genre can be tough on actors because they're called on to do things not only out of their personal experience, but in some cases, outside human experience. Everyone pulls their weight here, and serves the film instead of themselves. I was particularly surprised at Chris Evans' performance, which was solid and so antithetical to his work in the Fantastic Four films.
The film contains an underlying theme of mysticism that seems entirely appropriate given their mission. I appreciated this idea and was intrigued by it. Unfortunately, this is the foundation for what ultimately almost undermines the film. All the majesty and carefully constructed characters comes very close to going out the window when the action finally starts.
I was very afraid that the whole shebang was headed down the path of Event Horizon, one of my most dreaded Science Fiction films. Sunshine does manage to avoid the pitfalls of that film, but does compromise itself pretty dramatically for tension and action that their encounter brings. I felt a bit cheated here. After establishing the enormity of the situation, it seems a bit cheap that something so human could jeopardize the mission so badly.
But in the end, I can forgive this. The majority of the film is so excellent, and its message deep enough that it still won me over.
The Good: Classic, well rendered Science Fiction; Visually superb
The Bad: Starts to drift
The Ugly: Staring into the sun
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