Title: Sunshine (2007)Starring: Cliff Curtis, Cillian Murphy, Michelle Yeoh
Directed By: Danny Boyle
I REALLY liked the first 2/3 of this movie. A lot! The problem though is that Danny Boyle's solid, serious, straight-forward sci-fi yarn de-evolves into a cat-and-mouse horror pic in the 3rd act. For seemingly no reason. I was left over thinking and over analyzing the first two acts, only to realize exactly how great they are.
I LOVED last year's Moon. To me it was something that I haven't seen in a while, a REAL sci-fi film. It had compelling characters, a new set of rules, and an interesting story to tell. So did Sunshine, at first. I was introduced to well-developed characters, being played by fine actors, doing things that I found interesting.
So what happened? Apparently, that wasn't enough. Apparently, it was decided that the audience needed a villain to root against. Doyle does the best he can with this character, giving the entire look of the picture a makeover whenever he appears onscreen. But it just wasn't enough to save it. The damage was done, and unfortunately the film suffers for it.
It's hard NOT to recommend this film, because honestly there are flashes of brilliance (like one would expect from Danny Boyle) in it and maybe the nonsensical ending won't irk you like it did me. But as is, I'll leave it at "give it a chance".
Score: 6.5/10
Now that you know about the third act, you need to watch it again. This film is an homage to several different sci-fi that came before it and I think it is one of those films that when you first see it the third act seems jarring but when you look at in again (and with the knowledge of sci-fi that proceeded it) I think it works much better. Plus, while most people prefer the beginning, when I saw it in the theater there were people that hated the beginning but loved the end (they were in the minority but they are out there). Give this one a second viewing and you might be surprised how well it works.
ReplyDeleteI might just have to do that. :)
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