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SUNSHINE / Danny Boyle (2007)

August 15th, 2007 by Scott Marks

Cillian Murphy

SUNSHINE

Directed by Danny Boyle

Written by Alex Garland

Starring: Cillian Murphy, Michelle Yeoh, Rose Byrne & Chipo Chung

Running Time: 108 min.

Aspect Ratio: cinemascope5.jpg

Rating: ★☆☆☆☆

It’s an intriguing premise: Jump 50 years into the future when the sun is beginning to die out. A space team is sent on a mission 55 million miles from earth to reignite it.

Originality ceases just after the sun sets behind the Fox Searchlight logo.

Take a pinch of 2001, add a dash of Solaris, a heaping cup of Alien (minus the uncomfortable metaphors for stomach cancer) and you pretty much have a sense of what you’re in for.

There’s a talking IBM that overrides human commands, lots of close-ups of reflecting retinas, and so many computer graphics it was like staring at a monitor for 108 minutes. I kept waiting for the Dell logo to appear at the bottom center of the screen.

Plot devices are equally as clunky. The crew decides to take a side trip from their original mission which predictably results in damage to the ship. For a while I found myself envying the two crew members sent out to repair the problem. At least they got to leave the ship, like the rest of the international cast that gradually succumbs to death by billing.

Most contemporary soundtracks consist of electronic background noise or preexisting songs bundled together to sell a CD. Any score that combines the THX logo with the last cord from The Beatles’ A Day in the Life deserves a mention.

In the past, director Danny Boyle (28 Days Later, The Beach, Trainspotting) has shown considerable taste in his selection of genre films. (Admittedly, he was responsible for the ordinary and lifeless A Life Less Ordinary.) The exciting subject matter dulled quickly. Next time, move away from the computer screen, focus on the characters and show us something truly spectacular.

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Filed Under Reviews, Theatrical