Checked out this movie really not knowing what to expect, only knowing that I really liked the work of both Danny Boyle(director) and Alex Garland(writer) on 28 Days Later. With that said, this is quite the departure from 28 Days Later.



The plot follow the crew of the Icarus II, a space shuttle sent to reignite the sun before it completely dies out. Of course, given the enormity of this task, many problems inevitably arise, and the characters must attempt to avoid meeting the same fate as the previous ship, the Icarus I. The characters are well thought out for the most part, even though a few characters are pushed out of the limelight. Constant macrocosmic questions are posed and there is of course the fear of the many dangers involved with the mission. Also, great acting all around. I found the characters to be quite believable and the movie gave a fairly good grasp of the stress the characters were under. Be aware though, if you're a fan of realism in sci-fi movies, this might not be your cup of tea. There are a decent amount of science-related plotholes and a few things that don't make sense, but nothing so extreme that it would detract the average viewer from being immersed in the film.

There is, however, somewhat of a change of pace near the end of the movie(due to a somewhat unusual problem which I won't spoil). A lot of people said that this ruined the movie for them, but I'm on the side that thinks it was an interesting plot development. Despite the way certain scenes were presented, this problem that arose was merely one of many that the astronauts had to deal with.



Sunshine also contains quite a few impressive visual effects. If the prospect of cool, up close vantages of the sun and whatnot interests you, you'll definitely enjoy the cgi renders of the sun.

In short, if you're looking for an entertaining sci-fi flick with well thought out character drama, Sunshine is definitely worth giving a try.