Sunshine

Objective Rating (How much merit I think it deserves):
6.5/10
Subjective Rating (How much I personally like it):
7/10

Year released: 2007
Runtime: 107 minutes
IMDB page: here

It's a fun sci-fi flick, a psychological thriller, if you want it to be. It's a philosophical outlook on religion and humanity if you want it to be. It's quite a versatile little gem with different facets.

Plot: A group of diverse (read: a lot of Asians) scientists/astronauts are sent on a mission to chuck a nuclear bomb into the sun to re-ignite the dying star and save all life on earth. The mission's chance of success is pretty low, and the crew's chance of survival is even lower. And their discovery of the spaceship from the previous failed attempt, crash-landed on Mercury, does not improve their odds.

Cast: Cillian Murphy has been one of my favourite actors since 28 Days Later. He can pull off the haunted look so well. Here he is suitably cast as the quiet physicist who reluctantly helps make some big decisions for the crew. And I learned that "Cillian" is pronounced with a "k," unlike my previous assumption. The cast has the special chemistry fermented as crew members who have spent the last 2 years (or something like that) on this isolated ship heading to a dangerous destination. They may not all like each other, but they are professional and oh so desperate to maintain order in this chaotic blackness of entropy. The relatively large number of Asian characters (Sanada Hiroyuki from The Last Samurai, Michelle Yeoh from Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, Cliff Curtis, Benedict Wong) and the American accent are meant to represent that in the future, China and US are supposed to be the leaders in space exploration.

Script: Despite its sci-fi themes, the film is surprisingly relatable. Fear of death, battle to overcome nature/space, selfishness, guilt, idol-worship, insanity. The sci-fi elements are very much present and important, but the film doesn't get bogged down with esoteric details. It's credibly scientific, but the science is incorporated into the characters' motives and drives the story forward.

Production: Directed by Danny Boyle, before he won the Oscar with Slumdog Millionaire. The shots are distinctly in his style, jerky at times but draws you to connect the dots. The inside of the spaceship looks very serene and immaculately clean, but at the same time you get the sense of imminent doom because the film always reminds you the ship is the only thing keeping you away from the blackness of space, from instant death.

Sunshine shows a lot of details that trace their origins back to Alien and Solaris. And actually, Sunshine is almost a combination of the two: philosophical and dangerous.