To be honest, I can't
say that I expected either extreme. "2001: ASO" may be the pinnacle
of its indescribable genre. "Mission to Mars" is one of the biggest
jokes in the genre.
However, I presumed that Danny Boyle's "Sunshine" would edge closer
to Kubrick's masterpiece. I'm not quite sure why I thought so. After
all, re-igniting the dying sun seems a pretty routine sci-fi plot.
Perhaps it was the director of the cult classic, "28 Days Later",
that earned my interest. Maybe I was excited to see Rose Byrne, one
of my favorite young actresses at the moment, in a starring role.
The early buzz had this film near the top of my 2007 must-see list.
With all that in mind, I am frustrated to say that "Sunshine" fades
into obscurity due to a lethargic pace, messy editing and
uninspired, inane dialogue. In addition, sci-fi movies usually have
a fantastic opportunity to dazzle with spectacular effects. While
"Sunshine" does have a few impressive sequences, most of the visuals
are murky and dull.
The basic premise has Icarus 2 flying toward the dying sun with a
crew of nine and an explosive payload that could help re-ignite the
sun. Icarus 2 is so named because a similar previous mission failed
some years before. Needless to say, complications ensue, involving
some space walks, some shield deterioration and, mysteriously, a
distress call from the original Icarus vessel.
There are crew disagreements, on-board fires, sacrificed lives,
close calls, heroic decisions... blah, blah, blah. It rarely seems
to amount to much drama or tension. Even the occasional death by
sunlight exposure plays as entirely ho-hum.
None of the characters are drawn well enough to drum up emotion from
the audience. Most of the acting is substituted with overly dramatic
posing. Only the talented Byrne is ever able to muster the effort
required to squeeze something out of this screenplay.
The Exquisite Rose Byrne Makes "Sunshine"
A Tad Brighter.
It is all just so disappointingly below average -- in every
conceivable way. "Sunshine" is never a truly horrible film, on a
level with "Mission to Mars"... But it never even sniffs the heels
of "2001: ASO". It feels more like a low budget "Alien" without the
actual alien.
I held out hope for a rousing conclusion... filled to the brim with
wonderment and originality. Perhaps there would be an enlightening
and inspirational final act that would leave me steeped in thought
about all the complexity and meaning that had eluded me so far...
Nope. It degenerates into a feverishly over-edited piece of schlock.
I was reduced to head-scratching confusion at how messy and
pointless it all was.
The sunlight fades early on in this film and, despite the meager
efforts of a muddled director and a flat cast, it never manages to
regain much of a spark. What a real shame! I had high hopes for this
one, but I was way off.
Rose Byrne in "Sunshine". |
