✯✯✯✯ 1/2
New Top 350 Entry: #204
There is no doubt in my mind that this has to be the most underrated and under-seen film I've ever watched. Danny Boyle has made his Solaris, and it's nothing short of amazing.
After watching Sunshine and The Social Network today, I can definitely see how Aaron Sorkin and Boyle will make a great team for the forthcoming Steve Jobs biopic. Boyle can be such a great director when he puts his mind to it, and Alex Garland's writing is stellar. He has crafted a masterfully suspenseful sci-fi film, and a new underrated favorite of mine.
Cilian Murphy gives a great performance as the "hero" of the story, which is surprising, given the neurotic characters I've seen him play as recently. His character is sympathetic and absolutely essential to the story, and he doesn't take his development lightly in the slightest. Chris Evans seems to be better at playing "bad boy" type characters, which is why his Captain America performance seems so out of place for him, given his filmography. He's definitely not the antagonist in Sunshine, but he definitely does get on some people's nerves.
My biggest problem with the film was the way the climax was handled. They just decided to drag it out for as long as they could, even going as far as making the antagonist reappear for one final pointless push. It just seemed really unnecessary, and actually somewhat implausible, given what happened to the guy beforehand. Everything up to that pointy had taken my breath away, and putting him back in the spotlight broke the suspense building throughout the film for me.
Gripes aside, Sunshine is an exhilarating and sorely underrated sci-fi endeavor. Danny Boyle brilliantly directs a phenomenal cast in this master stroke from the future director of Ex Machina. I can't believe I had never heard of this film up to this point, given how much I research mainstream movies. It's a shame the audiences had to bury this film, and its box office flop dwindled it into obscurity. It really is a brilliant and thrilling film that deserves a lot more attention.