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The movie Sunshine--about a group of scientists/astronauts who head into space to reignite our dying sun--died a much-deserved, quick death at the box office almost immediately upon its release. However, it is still playing at some theaters, and so it falls upon me to warn away those few of you who haven't yet seen the film, but are possibly considering it.
When you go to see a movie that hasn't done well at the box office and it's a good movie, you're often left wondering what exactly happened to make it not catch on with audiences. Was there one or more unbear-ably unlikeable actors that detracted from the story, either through their own bad acting or just being miscast in their parts? Was the story, while decent, not strong enough to keep a hold on the audience? Did the production have a feel of being sort of thrown together on the fly, as if no one cared, so then why should we?
Then there are some movies which don't do well, and upon viewing them, you know exactly why...and inside, you're almost sort of glad. Sunshine is one of those types of movies, and I can tell you exactly why it failed: It has a very European style to its storytelling.
If you've never seen a European made film, let me elucidate: European films--Italian, British, German, and the French especially--tend to tell their stories in a very deliberate manner, sometimes slowly. Unlike most American films, they tend to emphasize character over action, and want the audience to be certain as to who each character is within the story, why we should care about them, and what their motivations are. Some European films are able to mix hard action in fluidly with such characterization, and these are the ones which usually become under-ground legends.
When you go to see a movie that hasn't done well at the box office and it's a good movie, you're often left wondering what exactly happened to make it not catch on with audiences. Was there one or more unbear-ably unlikeable actors that detracted from the story, either through their own bad acting or just being miscast in their parts? Was the story, while decent, not strong enough to keep a hold on the audience? Did the production have a feel of being sort of thrown together on the fly, as if no one cared, so then why should we?
Then there are some movies which don't do well, and upon viewing them, you know exactly why...and inside, you're almost sort of glad. Sunshine is one of those types of movies, and I can tell you exactly why it failed: It has a very European style to its storytelling.
If you've never seen a European made film, let me elucidate: European films--Italian, British, German, and the French especially--tend to tell their stories in a very deliberate manner, sometimes slowly. Unlike most American films, they tend to emphasize character over action, and want the audience to be certain as to who each character is within the story, why we should care about them, and what their motivations are. Some European films are able to mix hard action in fluidly with such characterization, and these are the ones which usually become under-ground legends.
Again, if you've never seen one, here's a quick list of some of the absolute best you should: La Femme Nikita(the original French version, not that shitty tv series that stayed on way past its prime), The Professional(known as "Leon" back in France. Made in the U.S. with our bucks, but with "Nikita" French director, Luc Besson. Watch the European version), Ultraviolet(a beyond excellent British tv series, not that crappy movie with Milla Jovovich), Cracker and the Red, White and Blue trilogy(which is actually watched in the order Blue, White and Red).
Few are the American directors who understand the European style, or can effectively emulate it. Clint Eastwood(Unforgiven), Spike Jonze(Being John Malkovich) and James L. Brooks(Broadcast News) can do it. Surprisingly, English director Danny Boyle(director of the well-received Trainspotting, which put Ewan McGregor on the map, as well as the decent but overrated 28 Days Later) cannot.
Sunshine starts off promisingly--if implausibly--enough by giving us the premise that sometime in the future, our sun has begun the process of dying out. Since humans are still inhabiting the Earth, a team of scientists is sent into space to drop a massive nuclear bomb within our star in order to reignite it and save us all. While the concept is appealing, the flaws begin almost immediately with said premise. Although the year the story takes place is never mentioned within the film, enough press releases have been sent out so that we know it's only 50 years in the future(2057). While I can easily suspend my disbelief when it comes to science fiction(my favorite genre), it is a well-regarded fact that our sun won't start its death cycle until billions of years from now. Even allowing for unknown reasons which might cause it to start dying earlier, there is no way that in only 50 years, humans would possess the technology to safely reach the sun, let alone reignite it. This falls into the same tech flaws as the failed movie version of Lost In Space(1998).
More strangely, much of Sunshine's plot closely apes that late-term abortion of a film, Event Horizon(1997) which also had a great but terribly underutilized cast. If one is going to either remake or steal from a movie, why in the world would you do it with a bad one? If the attempt was to make a bad movie better, then Sunshine fails on all counts.
The cast in this case is led by Hiroyuki Sanada as Captain Kaneda, and followed ably by Cliff Curtis as first officer Searle, rising star(no pun intended) Cillian Murphy as physicist Capa, the always-astonishing Michelle Yeoh as botanist/ecologist Corazon, Rose Byrne as pilot Cassie, Benedict Wong as scientist/mathematician Trey, Chris Evans as co-pilot Mace and Troy Garity as psychologist Harvey. The majority of this crew is made up of (mainly) solid actors who are never utilized to their fullest by Boyle, with the exception of Murphy, who has already starred in Boyle's 28 Days Later and in this case is clearly the teacher's pet.
Chipo Chung plays the female voice of the crew's ship Icarus II, and I would like to state now and forevermore that there needs to be an immediate moritorium on talking ships with advanced A.I. It was extremely cool when the movie 2001 first introduced the concept. Now it is highly played out.
The crew of Icarus II(Icarus I disappeared without a trace seven years earlier, on its way to drop its own bomb into the sun. Icarus II is sent to finish the job) makes its way toward the sun via Mars, where the intention is to slingshot using that planet's gravity in order to shorten their journey. As they reach the planet, a distress beacon from the Icarus I is received. Once it's determined the prototype vessel is still in orbit of the sun, it's postulated that because of the star's radiation, heat and other ambient noise, the signal was blocked from getting to Earth. A decision is made to change the Icarus II's trajectory so that it can link up with its predecessor, and kill two birds with one stone: check to see if the crew is still alive, and obtain the first bomb which was never dropped, thereby giving the overall mission a greater chance of success.
Calculations are made too hastily by Trey however, and the approach vector for the Icarus II places it too close to their fiery destination with not enough shielding. This also causes catastrophic damage to the ship's hydroponics system and garden, both of which are vital to the crew's being able to survive their trip back home. The course is eventually adjusted, but repairs to portions of the outer hull must be made by Captain Kaneda and Capa. Like all such films of its ilk, you can see it coming: if there's going to be a spacewalk, something's gonna go wrong and someone's got to die(see 2000's Mission To Mars). In this case it turns out to be Kaneda, and I have to admit I was genuinely surprised, as he was one of the strongest characters, given the brief time he's in the film. Kaneda sacrifices his life in order to make the final repairs, while Capa barely makes it back into the ship. Trey blames himself for his captain's death and the loss of the garden, and promptly commits suicide.
Few are the American directors who understand the European style, or can effectively emulate it. Clint Eastwood(Unforgiven), Spike Jonze(Being John Malkovich) and James L. Brooks(Broadcast News) can do it. Surprisingly, English director Danny Boyle(director of the well-received Trainspotting, which put Ewan McGregor on the map, as well as the decent but overrated 28 Days Later) cannot.
Sunshine starts off promisingly--if implausibly--enough by giving us the premise that sometime in the future, our sun has begun the process of dying out. Since humans are still inhabiting the Earth, a team of scientists is sent into space to drop a massive nuclear bomb within our star in order to reignite it and save us all. While the concept is appealing, the flaws begin almost immediately with said premise. Although the year the story takes place is never mentioned within the film, enough press releases have been sent out so that we know it's only 50 years in the future(2057). While I can easily suspend my disbelief when it comes to science fiction(my favorite genre), it is a well-regarded fact that our sun won't start its death cycle until billions of years from now. Even allowing for unknown reasons which might cause it to start dying earlier, there is no way that in only 50 years, humans would possess the technology to safely reach the sun, let alone reignite it. This falls into the same tech flaws as the failed movie version of Lost In Space(1998).
More strangely, much of Sunshine's plot closely apes that late-term abortion of a film, Event Horizon(1997) which also had a great but terribly underutilized cast. If one is going to either remake or steal from a movie, why in the world would you do it with a bad one? If the attempt was to make a bad movie better, then Sunshine fails on all counts.
The cast in this case is led by Hiroyuki Sanada as Captain Kaneda, and followed ably by Cliff Curtis as first officer Searle, rising star(no pun intended) Cillian Murphy as physicist Capa, the always-astonishing Michelle Yeoh as botanist/ecologist Corazon, Rose Byrne as pilot Cassie, Benedict Wong as scientist/mathematician Trey, Chris Evans as co-pilot Mace and Troy Garity as psychologist Harvey. The majority of this crew is made up of (mainly) solid actors who are never utilized to their fullest by Boyle, with the exception of Murphy, who has already starred in Boyle's 28 Days Later and in this case is clearly the teacher's pet.
Chipo Chung plays the female voice of the crew's ship Icarus II, and I would like to state now and forevermore that there needs to be an immediate moritorium on talking ships with advanced A.I. It was extremely cool when the movie 2001 first introduced the concept. Now it is highly played out.
The crew of Icarus II(Icarus I disappeared without a trace seven years earlier, on its way to drop its own bomb into the sun. Icarus II is sent to finish the job) makes its way toward the sun via Mars, where the intention is to slingshot using that planet's gravity in order to shorten their journey. As they reach the planet, a distress beacon from the Icarus I is received. Once it's determined the prototype vessel is still in orbit of the sun, it's postulated that because of the star's radiation, heat and other ambient noise, the signal was blocked from getting to Earth. A decision is made to change the Icarus II's trajectory so that it can link up with its predecessor, and kill two birds with one stone: check to see if the crew is still alive, and obtain the first bomb which was never dropped, thereby giving the overall mission a greater chance of success.
Calculations are made too hastily by Trey however, and the approach vector for the Icarus II places it too close to their fiery destination with not enough shielding. This also causes catastrophic damage to the ship's hydroponics system and garden, both of which are vital to the crew's being able to survive their trip back home. The course is eventually adjusted, but repairs to portions of the outer hull must be made by Captain Kaneda and Capa. Like all such films of its ilk, you can see it coming: if there's going to be a spacewalk, something's gonna go wrong and someone's got to die(see 2000's Mission To Mars). In this case it turns out to be Kaneda, and I have to admit I was genuinely surprised, as he was one of the strongest characters, given the brief time he's in the film. Kaneda sacrifices his life in order to make the final repairs, while Capa barely makes it back into the ship. Trey blames himself for his captain's death and the loss of the garden, and promptly commits suicide.
Things don't improve much for the crew upon finally linking up with Icarus I. While the first ship's garden is completely intact--teeming with vegetation in fact, due to seven years of unchecked growth--the docking port between the two ships is unaccountably damaged, leaving the four remaining guys trapped aboard Icarus I. A plan is devised by Mace, and three of them will leap across the gulf to Icarus II, propelled by explosive decompression when the airlock is released. Of course, one must stay behind to release the door in the first place. Psychologist Harvey volun-teers, as he is the least essential crew member present. Two things: first of all, it was a shame that Troy Garity(who plays Harvey) had to be sacrificed, as he is another actor generally given short shrift in films(see his great but almost unnoticed work in Live Free or Die Hard). Second, this is yet another scene ripped off from Event Horizon. I have to say again that it's hard to understand why a director of Boyle's abilities feels a need to rip off a bad movie. Then again, this could all be a homage to what might be one of his favorite films. Boyle's obviously a sci-fi fan, as is evident in a shout-out given to Babylon 5 in the film(you have to listen closely to someone's dialogue for it) and the naming of Hiroyuki Sanada's captain after one of the main characters in the seminal anime Akira.
Soon enough after the gulf jump(and the loss of yet another charac-ter), it is realized the docking port was sabotaged by an intruder on the ship. This is revealed in a scene where the Icarus II's computer informs Capa that there is not enough oxygen for the entire crew, as five people are detected on board as opposed to the four there should be. However, the logic almost immediately goes out the window when the intruder--the Icarus I's former captain, Pinbacker, played by Mark Strong--begins pull-ing the computer's mainframe out of place and the computer itself states that it can't detect the intruder's bio-signs. If it couldn't detect Pinbacker's bio-signs in the first place, then how could the computer have alerted Capa to the presence of an intruder at all?
Things deteriorate rapidly from here out, as Sunshine--which actually does possess some very cool little moments--spirals downward into a typical slasher film, with Pinbacker stalking the remaining crew members one by one while spouting some nonsensical ramblings about how God wants the human race to die out and no one should be able to dissent against His choice. In defense of Event Horizon, I have to say that even though it was a craptastic abomination of a movie, it had the common sense to state that the reason such horrific, supernatural things were happening to the crew was that the ship's wormhole had accidentally taken it to a different dimension--more than likely hell--and brought some-thing ravenously evil back with it. No such attempt is made in the slightest in Sunshine to explain how Pinbacker could survive, why he is much stronger than the other humans, or what the deal is with him "getting religion" all of a sudden. It is a laziness and sloppiness of screenwriting and directing which I would usually not associate with Danny Boyle, and it is ultimately a sad thing to witness.
I won't give away how Sunshine ends, if you've decided to dismiss my warnings and see it anyway. But if you do, at least wait until it comes out on DVD to rent it...at least that way, you won't feel as if you've wasted too much of your money on two hours you'll never be getting back.
Sunshine
(Eternally Spotted Plot...)
Look into Cillian Murphy's eye...it reflects the hope-lessness and despair found in theaters showing this movie.
"So it's agreed...short straw gets killed off first, so that actor can get out of this flick and back to their real life."
"Do you reject the movie 'Sunshine' and all its empty promises--?"
No, no, no...I will not make an easy joke here about Michelle Yeoh watching her career go up in flames.
"I was told I was going to be a star, not that I was going to one--!"
Okay, kids--Electric Company singalong! "Crap..." "...movie." Crapmovie!
