I saw the film Sunshine and felt like saying a few words about it. Critics and film lovers alike gave it a B...I agree. I actually quite enjoyed it. Good special effects, intriguing character deaths, though they basked in them to the point of cheesiness most of the time. It was a film worth seeing that didn't really bother to deal with a deeper meaning.
This is a film from the freak that brought us Trainspotting, 28 Days Later, and Millions. His films (with the exception of Millions) are an artistic blend of sadism and hallucination topped with a dash of hope. Sunshine falls into such a category though it is one of his weaker achievements. Poor acting for a crew with such accomplished past films. The film's enemy was intriguing but a little cliche since his reason for trying to destroy the ship's mission to reignite the sun was because God was calling humanity to die out with the sun. However, he is never shown in the film but appears much like a ghost in an acid trip-a very nice effect.
With all this said, the film was great. The music was unique but epic when it needed to be (though the song at the credits was lacking). I watch this film as I do so many others these days, with my eye critical to the film's technique and what it was hoping to do. This is how I could enjoy such films as The Fountain, The Matrix Reloaded, and Spider-Man 3-I acknowledge the flaws and simply surrender to what the film is trying for. And Sunshine tried for something that I thought worked. It's a thriller in a spaceship on its way to the sun. It was intense and kepy my interest the entire way. Director Danny Boyle and writer Alex Garland proved, once again, that they are a good team that can do something fresh whenever they change genres and decide to make a film. Sunshine didn't change sci-fi the way 28 Days Later changed the zombie movie genre, but it kept me interested. I'll buy it when it comes out-it's totally worth seeing again.
PS I've heard that many people did not like this film. National Public Radio gave it a bad review and Roger Ebert only gave it 3/5 stars (and it was one of the worst written articles that guy has ever done). In fact, one of the guys I saw it with didn't like it. I can only say that sci-fi is a tough sell that, I dare say, most people don't get. So if people say this film blows, then they probably don't care for sci-fi to begin with (or at the least the good stuff [I know elitist that sounds, but, fuck it, it's true]).
