Tuesday 3 July 2012

A Little Ray of Sunshine.

A group of astronauts are sent on a mission to reignite the diminishing sun.


So I saw the movie Sunshine the other day. There were many aspects of it that provided me with positive expectations prior to viewing. I mean, it’s directed by the legend that is Danny Boyle, my sudden favourite Chris Evans plays a leading role, and the concept is pretty intriguing too.

Initially, maybe stupidly, I expected the movie to be so ‘feel-good’ I could watch it with my family the next week. My. GOD. It’s so intense, so horrifying, but so amazingly beautiful at the same time. I think Boyle really captures the perfect essence of space and the universe: yeah, it’s not safe, but wouldn’t we all love the opportunity to explore in space regardless?


hmm... Just agree with me, people.


And Boyle is a genius. Like 28 Days/Weeks Later, Sunshine was so grandiose, whilst maintaining the brutality of an apocalyptic life. 

And let’s not forget the actors. Okay, so they were all great, but my main focus is on Chris Evans and Cillian Murphy (Mace and Capa). Murphy was the lead in the movie, so naturally he would be the one to have his greatest moment of glory. And he did really well; I loved his character :)




BUT, I genuinely think Evans was the star of the show. Until this movie, I had considered Evans a good actor… but I was completely wrong. He is amazing. He played the arrogant dickhead really well, and I didn’t like him originally because of his rough attitude towards the other members of the crew. So easily angered, so quick to retaliate, etc. but then nearer the end of the movie everything falls into place; I understood how he felt, what they had to tolerate to save the world, and exactly how HUGE a burden was resting on his shoulders… and without spoiling anything, his moment to shine was both heartbreaking and admirable at the same time. I’m so proud of his performance in that movie… like a strange mother.

However, having complimented this movie like a beast, I’m going to state the one complaint I have. I feel the storyline wasn’t explained properly. I dunno, maybe I’m just stupid, but there were so many moments where I (and my friends) were confused, and just watching with a “whaaaa?” expression on our sorry little faces. It seemed like Boyle forgot about who would be watching it, like “I understand, the cast understands… so what more dya need?”

…This movie’s being viewed by thousands, darlin’.

Overall rating: 7.5/10
I loved the concept, the acting, the amalgamation of fear and sci-fi… but there were too many moments where I was left confused. I’m also not a huge fan of depressing endings... is that a spoiler? I… I mean… that was just a random fact about me. Nothing to do with Sunshine, silly ;)

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2 comments:

  1. Anonymous3 July 2012 at 14:31

    No, you're not stupid. The script is stupid. Bombastically, horrifyingly, idiotically stupid. I wouldn't have trusted the crew of the Icarus II to change a light bulb, let alone save the world. Alex Garland knows only one way to make drama happen, and that's by having supposedly smart people do incredibly out-of-character dumb things. Very pretty soundtrack, though. And, yeah, except for the moments when Garland's script required Mace to be an immature, petulant asshole (and when Hiroyuki Sanada's Captain Kaneda just went along with it), Chris Evans was pretty much the voice-of-reason saving grace of this dopey misfire.

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    1. pie-liner4 July 2012 at 09:33

      hmm, you think so? I don't think it was thaaat bad... and you can't blame the crew; it's not everyday people are sent out to reignite the sun, poor fellas are bound to get SOMETHING wrong :P

      on a more serious note, I think the "out-of-character dumb things" might have been psychological reactions... like you know when you spend too much time in a closed environment with the same amount of people, you start to behave out of character? that kinda thing, a Big Brother scenario, where they're so isolated and fed up with the monotony that it's affected them all terribly.

      but yes, Mace was amazing :) alas, I don't remember the soundtrack. I shall listen to it at somepoint! xxx

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