SUNSHINE Movie Review

BOTTOM LINE: Gripping, and visually stunning science-fiction thriller, only let down by a weak second-half psycho/alien-kills-crew subplot.

THE GOOD: Sunshine is inspired by such classics as "2001: A Space Odyssey", "Alien" and "Blade Runner" in the visual department and it shows; the pictures are absolutely stunning. The film also shares some tonal qualities, which add to the sense of realism running through this fabulous looking film. You really do feel like you're there and it's to the credit of director Danny Boyle and his team that they were able to create this world on a budget far less than what you expect (the film looks like a $100mil+ but was made for only a little more than half of that). The storyline involving the 'jump-starting' of the Sun to save the Solar System is also clever, with ample room given to a number of philosophical and intelligent discussions involving the human race's place in the universe. Casting is superb without the use of major stars; only Cillian Murphy and Michelle Yeoh are the most easy to recognise. Murphy in particular was an interesting choice; I had always associated him with the insane characters because he does them so well, but this time, he plays the straight guy quite convincingly. The film is a marvel of filmmaking and it really does takes you in to space... at least for the first half of the film.

THE BAD: The last half of the film loses its wonder when it reverts to an age-old cliched story of a psycho-killer/alien murdering each of the space-ship's crew one by one. It's been done a million times and why the filmmakers thought it was necessary to put it in to this film, especially since the main story was strong enough to sustain the rest of the film, is a complete mystery. It definitely detracts from the awe-inspiring wonder and realistic depiction of space travel that set up the film. Sure, there's the whole claustrophobia angle and how that impacts on the sanity of the crew, but maybe they could have let it be this time.