164 out of 182 people found the following review helpful:

Awful

Alan from Redditch, 17th September, 2007

I have never felt compelled to write a review before, but having sat through the best part of this film, I thought I should. I think it tries to follow Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey, in as much as it's quiet, there's little dialogue, and it's set maily inside a spaceship with folks talking to the computer. Unfortunately, nothing happens. They have to re-ignite the sun, but we're not sure why, and to be honest, I wasn't really bothered if they did or not. The most interesting aspect was trying to remember in which other films you saw the actors. My advice would be to hire something else...anything else.

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69 out of 74 people found the following review helpful:

Solar crisis

Stephen Simpson from Croydon, England, 22nd March, 2007

His low-budget sleeper hit 28 Days Later gave director Danny Boyle some leeway with the Hollywood studios, and he’s used it to make this gripping sci-fi yarn. It has a nice balance between thrills (with big explosions, astronauts being blown out of airlocks etc) alongside heavier stuff (the end of humankind – it doesn’t get much more serious than that!). In truth, though, this is closer to the likes of Solaris, 2001: A Space Odyssey, Silent Running and Alien (John Carpenter’s work-of-genius space comedy Dark Star is also referenced, trivia fans – check out the name of the captain of Icarus I). We are a long way from the dumb, jingoistic heroics of Armageddon or Deep Impact. The ensemble cast works well, with some familiar faces but no big stars. This makes the fate of each crew member less predictable, which adds to the suspense. The look of the film is worth mentioning, with some flawless special effects. It’s not a perfect film – there’s one very silly plot twist (you’ll know what I’m talking about when it happens) and it does risk descending into pretentiousness towards the end. All in all, Sunshine is an intelligent sci-fi film, something all too rare these days.

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57 out of 61 people found the following review helpful:

Spend time in the Sunshine

Meako from , 19th April, 2007

Danny Boyle is a director that refuses to be pigeon-holed. Yes, his first few films (Shallow Grave and Trainspotting) had a certain feel to them, but then he sprung A Life Less Ordinary onto the slightly bemused public, and also The Beach. After that he switched to digital film for the gritty and chilling 28 Days Later, before deciding that he ought to make a family friendly film (of sorts) in the guise of Millions. All differently toned films, with differing styles. So, when he announced he was making a sci-fi about a mission to the sun, who knew what to expect? Would it be an action packed blockbuster, would it be gritty 'Alien-esque' tension, or perhaps Solaris-paced cerebral story? The answer is a little bit of all three. The time is the future, and the Sun in slowly dying. Mankind's last hope for survival is a mission to launch a bomb into the core of our life-giving star and 'jump-start' its heart. Enter the stunning craft Icarus 2, and the on-board team of scientists, pilots, and tech experts. They are truly the planet's last chance, as the previous mission lost contact and vanished. The crew on Icarus 2 are well into their mission, and some tensions and rivalries, along with a few obsessions, have built up. Mace (Chris Evans – almost unrecognizable at the start of the film) and Capa (the ever excellent Cillian Murphy) have a few disagreements, whilst Searle (Cliff Curtis) 'bathes' in the dangerous rays from the sun. It seems, as the crew prepare to enter the 'dead zone' area where all contact with Earth will be lost, that boredom and frustration is settling in. Then, not long after entering the zone, they pick up a distress signal from Icarus 1. This one event triggers a series of problems for the team that may put their mission, their lives, and the fate of all mankind at risk. Sunshine owes a great deal to films such as 2001, and Event Horizon, amongst others. From pan-shots of the craft moving through space, to the strange events on the Icarus 1, all the moments in the film have some origin in another films elsewhere. However this isn't a bad thing as in Boyle's skilled hands he has built up an impressive sci-fi drama with a cast who (especially in Evan's case) have seemed to step up a gear. The interplay between the inhabitants of Icarus is reminiscent of those of Nostromo in Alien, totally believable and well written. As the events of the film come to pass the relationships are stretched and pulled, and the cast throw themselves into the drama. This is a film to see on the big screen in order to appreciate the amazing visuals on offer. The majesty of the Icarus is a sight to behold. With a soundtrack to compliment the visuals, the end experience is a good one. Sure, you've seen it all before, but just because you had gateau last week doesn't mean you don't want to eat it again, does it? Treat yourself to Sunshine.

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42 out of 47 people found the following review helpful:

Don't let the sun go down on me

Mbub from Westbury, Wilts, 5th September, 2007

The sun is dying and a small group of people heads towards it in the hope of sending a bomb to its centre and re-starting the fires. For me this was a mis-match film. One minute I was watching a slow moving space movie, the next an average action film, then a below standard horror flick, then a weird journey into supernatural jargon. I have a feeling that the writer couldn't make up their mind what genre they wanted to put this in. Some of it was worth watching, hence 2 stars, but the final outcome is that I won't be adding this to my DVD collection.

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*** May contain spoilers ***

Its all about the thrill of survival

A Customer from Seaford, 16th March, 2010

Our sun is dieing, this we all know. We don't know when it's going to happen, but I can imagine it playing out, kinda like it does in this film. (maybe not quite so farfetched...) An impossible mission, one that threatens the entire human race. would you be willing to give anything, if it meant saving the world? this film is about the ultimate survival and the ultimate sacrifice. watch and be amazed.

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Sunshine is terrible

BillieJean from , 16th March, 2010

Absolutely dreadful, no story, very boring, complete let by down Danny Boyle I loved all his other films. I do not recommend this film.

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Sunshine

Daniigirl from , 1st March, 2010

Bit hard to get into, but once you're there it is pretty good - not all action, but good story

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1 out of 1 people found the following review helpful:

Awful, humiliating rubbish...

Andy Sanderson from Gosfield, England, 24th February, 2010

I have in the last few days watched (amongst other films) Duncan Jones's 'Moon', and Danny Boyle's 'Sunshine'. This is the first review I have posted on this site, after 300 films watched, and I do it as a free public service to those of you who would otherwise spend even a small part of your lives paying attention to what has to be honestly the worst film I have had the real displeasure to see in a long time. It is truly, staggeringly, unremittingly dire. The science is terribly wrong, in almost all respects, making it a pure fantasy, not even science fiction. The acting is passable though uninspiring, perhaps not surprising given the awful, predictable dialogue. The plot is either unintelligible or too simple for me to figure out, I cannot decide which, but there is no logic to any of it. The special effects are OK, but there are far too many of them, at the expense of a decent story and a decent script. Quite why they are unable to carry enough oxygen for life support on a spaceship they earlier claim is the size of Manhattan is utterly beyond me... oh sorry, of course it is a 'plot device'. This is awful, humiliating rubbish. I now feel insulted. I am writing this while the film comes to its tedious conclusion with the sound off. I feel truly sorry for the poor actors associated with this mess, and if he wasn't partly to blame I would feel sorry for Danny Boyle, who I thought did a good job with Slumdog Millionaire. However, I do not feel at all sorry for the financial backers of this rubbish, as they richly deserve to lose every cent of the 50 million bucks it reportedly cost to cobble it together. Save your time and watch 'Moon' instead. It only cost 5 million bucks, a mere 10% of what was wasted on 'Sunshine', and although you may spend the first half hour wondering what is going on, suddenly you will get it, and later on you'll want to watch it again, and possibly watch it a third time. 'Moon', its flaws included, is an intelligent and fascinating film, and surely destined to be a cult classic, unlike 'Sunshine', which, pitifully and/or thankfully, is destined for the cutting room floor of time. Avoid, avoid, avoid, at all costs.

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