It’s a fair call to say that the Sci-Fi genre is ridiculously neglected these days. ‘Blockbuster’ space pics are few and far between and I could count the names of the ones worth watching on my fingers.
The SciFi-Thriller / SciFi-Horror genre is even more sparse in its application.
This has always come as a surprise to me, seeing as it could be such a varied pool to draw from. You have classics like Event Horizon - sure, not to everyone’s tastes and certainly not without criticisms, but like all in this genre, it has its die-hard following and enthusiasm. The Sci-Fi Thriller category is one place where few directors seem to want to travel, and I guess, like space itself, is relegated to a mass of uncharted territory and wonder.
Occasionally though, we see a release. Which brings me to the subject of this blog post.
Hot on the DVD rentals list this weekend, was the Danny Boyle/Alex Garland director/writer combination, Sunshine, featuring Chris Evans, Michelle Yeoh and Cillian Murphy.
Immediately immersed in a mission set 50 years into the future, we learn that the Sun is beginning to die, with Earth dying as a result. We are aboard the ‘Icarus 2′, a ship carrying a massive, highly energetic bomb, its detonation capable of re-igniting the Sun. Seven years previously, the ‘Icarus 1′ was sent to attempt the same mission, but it failed. Now, piloted by our current team of astronauts, this new team is sent to finish the mission as Earth’s last hope.
It does a fantastic job in the early stages to set up the whole ’small group of people in the confined space of a vessel on a low-chance-of-success mission’ and there are some fantastic elements of physics, space travel and possibility in these early phases. The entire concept of this ‘flying Earth’ with greeneries and virtual-reality therapy and Artificial Intelligence. You instantly take a warming to the characters, all well cast and unique in differing personalities. Even if this format is somewhat stereotypical of these sorts of films, it once again works in the context of Sunshine.
Its tied together by an amazing soundtrack (for the most part anyway - but I’ll get to that later) in eerie, but solemn sounds - all perfectly chosen for their respective scenes. Like Event Horizon, it really benefits from this excellent choice of ambient and ’song’ sounds.
While the movie pulls together as a whole and charges on with great direction in the first 50 minutes or so, it seems to waver a little in the closing phases. Without spoiling the conclusion, it just seemed to lack the direction of its earlier stages. Like the script got rewritten half-way through or something. There were great scenes, don’t get me wrong, but it started out as this incredible science/technology-fest, star-studded with cool technology and wonderous visionary - then turned to the Human/God factor for its horrific substance.
Horror is a tricky one to really make a good job of these days, with all of us accustomed to gruesome violence, dismemberment, and loud sounds to startle us out of our seats. The one exception though, is Sci-Fi. Really, I can’t think of anything more horrific than the paranoia of complete and utter isolation, turning against your fellow ‘Naut, running out of Oxygen, getting burned up by the intensities of the Sun, having your eyes sucked out of their sockets by rapid depressurisation, freezing in deep space.. the list goes on. And for the first half of Sunshine it nails these concepts right on the head. Its all there, done brilliantly.
I can’t help but think it could have been absolutely superb. Instead, while it finished up on a good note, you’ve just gone through a little bit of a disheartening swing. It looked like it was going to be the best, but just lost its drive right before crossing the line.
And onto the point I avoided before, the soundtrack completely falls apart as the credits roll. All throughout the film, we’re given this fantastic Sci-Fi appropriate soundtrack, setting the mood and heightening the scenes. Then some heavy rock stuff crashes about and you wonder what the hell you just watched that would require such a noise. I don’t know. It just seemed terribly out of place after the build-up.
A great film that could have been spectacular. Definitely worth a watch, but I guess as a Sci-Fi lover, I wanted it to be perfect.
Link: Sunshine @ IMDB
