Sunshine takes place 50 years in the future, and follows a crew of astronauts aboard a spaceship named the Icarus II.  The characters are venturing into space to deliver a payload to reignite the sun which is about to burn out, obliterating all mankind.  The entire film takes place away from earth as the small crew fights technical difficulties, human error, and nature’s wrath to reach the sun intact and in time to save humanity.

Have you ever gone to a restaurant that says they serve sushi, Italian, Greek, and Indian food?  I usually avoid those places because I don’t really believe that one place can do all those vastly different things well.  That was pretty much why I wasn’t too sure about going to see Danny Boyle’s Sunshine.  It was a huge departure from Boyle’s other successful works, including drug film Trainspotting, thriller 28 Days Later, and the family-friendly Millions, but here’s the deal, when free food and drinks are offered at a press screening, I cannot refuse.  Several mini grilled cheeses, tequila shrimp skewers and quarter-sized hamburgers later, I bring you this review.  This movie surprised me.  It was well-shot, suspenseful, and best of all, pretty scientifically accurate for a space sci-fi film.

This is a good film because of the realistic portrayal of human reaction and interaction within a trapped space.  It starts out like the intergalactic Breakfast Club, only with a purpose much bigger than teenage angst and Saturday morning detention, and also with a near impossible escape.

The ending however, is completely unexpected and out of the blue.  It was the only thing that I wasn’t too sure if I liked.  There was very little setup for the finale (which I cannot explain beyond the fact that there was an abrupt genre change in the third act), but I must say, it was one of the scariest films I have ever seen.  I’m sure everyone sitting around me at the screening probably got a good laugh at me peeking through my fingers that were covering my eyes, and listening to the muffled audio through my thumbs in my ears throughout the last 15 minutes of the film, but it was really that scary.  I actually considered walking out at some point because I was afraid of the nightmares that I would have all night, but the suspense forced me to stay.

Overall, Sunshine is a good film with mesmerizing views of outer space from your very own seat aboard the claustrophobic Icarus II.  The film has a fun website too.  Check that out if you get a chance.

/Film Rating: 7.5 out of 10