‘There will be nothing to show that we were ever here…’
Iconic filmmaker Danny Boyle made his name with gritty British dramas such as Shallow Grave and Trainspotting before moving into more conventional Hollywood fare with Slumdog Millionaire and the execrable Yesterday. Sunshine is his only foray into dark sci-fi, and in many respects, this feels more like an Alex Garland film than a Boyle project. Garland wrote the script for Sunshine and it has much more in common with 2014’s AI fable Ex-Machina or his mind-bending TV show Devs than with anything else in Boyle’s oeuvre…
A group of astronauts and scientists are tasked with dropping a nuclear fission bomb close to the sun to reignite the dying star and save Earth. The crew comprises a starry cast featuring Chris Evans, Cillian Murphy, Rose Byrne, Michelle Yoah, and Benedict Wong.
Sunshine wears its influences on its sleeve. As with pretty much all good science fiction movies, there are elements of 2001: A Space Odyssey and Alien, particularly in the divisive third act. Before we get to that point we have the tense claustrophobia of the latter juxtaposed with the deep philosophical musings of the former. It’s a heady mix made all the more appealing by the jaw-dropping special effects (that somehow remain awe-inspiring more than 15 years on) and a strong performance from a talented cast. It’s great to see Evans freed from the cage of playing Captain America and this film provides a useful insight into the career he could have had had he not stepped on the Marvel gravy train.
With Sunshine, Boyle and Garland created a scorching hot puzzle box of a movie that almost drips off the screen – a darkly effective and often haunting space opera.