Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1142 in DVD
• Released on: 2007-08-27
• Rating: Suitable for 15 years and over
• Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
• Formats: Anamorphic, PAL
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 107 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
You can never accuse director Danny Boyle of lacking ambition. Sunshine sees one of Britain's most successful directors switching genre once more, as he tackles this gripping science fiction flick about a quest to re-ignite the dying sun. And he nails it, too, adding another plus to a CV that's already covered a kids' film (Millions), a big Hollywood blockbuster (The Beach), horror (28 Days Later), and a pair of British classics (Trainspotting and Shallow Grave).

Bursting out of the gate at a terrific pace, Sunshine then doesn't take its foot off the accelerator for much of its near-two hour running time. Set around the crew of the Icarus II who find themselves on a life-saving mission, things soon start going awry, and while you'll find no plot spoilers here, Boyle proves a dab hand at ratcheting up tension on the way to the big finale.

If anything, it's the finale to Sunshine that does let the side down, not quite living up to the standard of what preceded it. But such is the strength of the ride to that point that it's hard to complain. Especially when the cast, led by the always-magnetic Cillian Murphy, put in believable performances and get heavily into the spirit of the film.

Topped off with cracking effects that belie its modest budget, Sunshine is a real treat, not just for sci-fi fans, but for anyone who likes a strong, tense, thrilling night in front of a movie. --Jon Foster

Synopsis
Set in the not too distant future, SUNSHINE follows eight astronauts on a mission to save the dying Sun by delivering their payload of a nuclear bomb into the star's core. In the year 2057, the Sun no longer produces the amount of energy needed to sustain the human race. The international community decides to send a combination of astronauts and scientists on a mission to the Sun in the hope that they can successfully fire a bomb the size of Manhattan into the star in order to reignite it and save mankind. The multinational crew are comprised of Captain Kaneda (Hiroyuki Sanada, THE TWILIGHT SAMURI), physicist Capa (Cillian Murphy, THE WIND THAT SHAKES THE BARLEY), biologist Corazon (Michelle Yeoh, TOMORROW NEVER DIES), engineer Mace (Chris Evans, FANTASTIC FOUR), pilot Cassie (Rose Byrne, TROY), physician Searle (Cliff Curtis, WHALE RIDER), communications officer Harvey (Troy Garity, BARBERSHOP), and navigator Trey (Benedict Wong, GROW YOUR OWN). As they journey towards the Sun, the crew discover the Icarus I spaceship, which was sent on the same mission as them seven years ago but mysteriously disappeared.
Director Danny Boyle reunites with screenwriter Alex Garland and producer Andrew MacDonald (THE BEACH, 28 DAYS LATER) for the science-fiction thriller SUNSHINE and creates a visually astounding film that, like its influences SOLARIS and 2001 – A SPACE ODYSSEY, is a sci-fi film that is grounded in reality, making for an intense examination of the human psyche and the strain brought upon people who are engaged in space travel. The international cast produce engaging performances and, while looking visually spectacular, SUNSHINE contains a lot more depth and intelligence than the average space travel film.

Customer Reviews

A thinking person's SF film full of light and shadow
I loved this film. From the moment you hear the name of the ship at the beginning - you can work out the ending - that's not rocket science, but knowing the end doesn't tell you about the journey the crew have to get there. I loved the chiaroscuro in this film - the contrasts between the sun and the moody dark claustrophobic shadow in most of the ship. The relationships between the crew were brilliant, reminding me a little of the first Alien film, and Solaris too. I thought their acceptance that they might be on a one-way ticket and that they'd do whatever they had to to complete the mission and save the Earth added layers of complexity and allowed the suspense to be wound up and up as the minutes ticked on. The ship was fantastically realised and belied the film's relatively small budget and at 103 minutes, it wasn't overlong at all.
This is a thinking person's science fiction film and is all the better for it. Loved it.

sublime...nothing less
This movie was nothing short of sublime. You experience it rather that watch it. I don't see what is confusing about the end at all. It seems quite straight forward to me and a natural progression in the film. Boring , I don't see how. Maybe us as the audience have got lazy and are now at the point where we need to be led through a film and have it spelt out, whereas here you pass through it and are elevated to each new level as are the astronauts themselves. what a film !!!!!

Like the sun, this film doesn't shine as brightly as it should ...
Sunshine is a film that almost makes me cry with frustration. Everytime I watch it, I can't help but think what might have been. It's good by most standards, but it could and should have been great.

The story is pretty simple - the sun is dying and our intrepid crew must try to reignite it with a giant nuclear bomb - but Sunshine tries to be more "2001: A Space Odyssey" grown-up sci-fi than a loud, blockbuster, wise-cracking "The Core" type of film. And it succeeds ... for about half its length.

The problem with Sunshine is this inconsistency. It is clear from the start of the film that, despite the silly story, it at least is trying to be somewhat realistic. We see plant-filled rooms where oxygen is created and stored, and cooling liquid surrounding computer processors. The ship moves like a spaceship not like an airplane, attention is paid by the crew to remaining within the 'shadow' of the ship's protective heat shield, and merely changing course is a complicated affair. But, we also have 'viewing rooms' where the crew can 'see' the sun (where is this room located?), the giant bomb itself (after multiple screenings I'm still not sure where on the ship it was placed?), and a computer that seems to vary in intelligence and warns the crew of the consequences of their actions only when it suits the plot!

The first half of the film concentrates on the crew themselves. We see a group of scientists struggling to cope with the isolation and the immense pressure of so important a task. We see the strain of having to make difficult decisions, we see them mentally cracking and unravelling. The tension, the fear, and the desperation makes from some top-notch sci-fi whereby the audience begins to see that the failure of the mission might be caused by the fragility of the human crew. The truth is, had these themes been continued to the end, Sunshine would have been one of the great sci-fi films of the new century.

Unfortunately Sunshine changes tact in the middle. It is as if the studios suddenly stepped in and said 'make it more commercial', and what we're left with is a ridiculous horror/chase/action affair which frankly doesn't work.

Definately a film worth seeing, particularly since it has some of the most eye-meltingly beautiful visual effects in a long time - the BluRay release should be stunning if you have a PS3. As a complete package though, Sunshine is a wasted opportunity.