New space odyssey
British director Danny Boyle has a habit of coming up with cult movies. In 1996 it was Trainspotting; in 2003 it was 28 Days Later; this year Sunshine could be the one. All three movies resemble the experience of a showground ride: once you’re on, you can’t get off and it’s scary, but fun for those who like that sort of thing. And all three offer something more: there’s food for thought beyond the purely visceral thrills.
Fifty years from now, the spacecraft Icarus 2 consists basically of eight astronauts strapped to the back of a stellar bomb the size of Manhattan. Their mission: fire the bomb into the heart of our dying sun to give it a kickstart and then, hopefully, evacuate in time to return safely to our icebound planet. A previous identical mission, the original Icarus, disappeared en route seven years earlier. As Icarus 2 enters the zone from which they will no longer be able to make contact with earth they detect a radio signal from Icarus 1. They don’t expect any survivors but the first bomb is still viable so, assuming two bombs double the chances of the mission’s success, they alter course to rendezvous with the dead spaceship, with some disastrous consequences.
The astronauts are already sixteen months into their journey and there have been personality clashes as tensions mount. What can be expected to happen when man comes face to face with the source of all life in our solar system? Don’t forget the Icarus of legend, who flew too close to the sun and was consumed in its flames. Mistakes are made and fatal accidents occur, and when their oxygen supply is compromised so that there is enough left for only four crew members, agonising ethical decisions must be made. And then their master computer, which like HAL in Kubrick’s 2001 A Space Odyssey has an eerie human voice, tells them it has detected an extra unknown crew member on board.
This is nail-biting sci fi with beautiful visuals and a mind-warping music score, especially during the end credits. The high-tech spaceship design is convincing, and so too is the human interaction. Aussie Rose Byrne is a standout among the international cast as the pilot who becomes the mission’s conscience. Michelle Yeoh plays the biologist who nurtures the oxygen garden; Kiwi actor Cliff Curtis is the medico enraptured by the power of the sun. Hunky Chris Evans is dynamic as the mission’s heroic muscle (sorry, no shots of those spectacular abs we saw in The Fantastic Four). Best of all is Cillian Murphy -“ when he’s in a movie (cross-dressing Kitten in Breakfast On Pluto, the terrorist in Red Eye, the hero in Boyle’s 28 Days Later) he’s the one you remember.
If you’re planning to see this, here’s some advice: see it on the biggest screen with the best sound system available. Enjoy the trip.
