DVD
REVIEW:
SUNSHINE

01/03/08

So, there has been a trip to the
Earth’s core, a couple of trips to some major asteroids
heading straight for Earth, and a couple of trips to Mars,
all somewhat recently. Yeah, this is a first, but not
really. It is a first trip to the Sun, but the movie follows
the same formula as these others. What a shame. It got
predictable. Sure the visual, audio, technical,
intellectual, cSunshineptual, and even psychological aspects
were great, but the storyline was weak. There was a plot
twist near the end that scarred what could have been a
better product. It was completely unnecessary or at least
should have been handled differently. The story was doing
just fine until that twist came along and turned it into
something else.
Ah, the Sun . . . a source of life and yet so potentially
deadly. This nuclear fusion reactor is the size of about a
million Earths, has a surface temperature of about 5500
degrees Celsius (the hardest substance to melt known to man
are diamonds at 3550 degrees Celsius), and it burns up 600
million tons of hydrogen every second. It is estimated to
last another 5 billion years. What if it doesn’t? “Our sun
is dying. Mankind faces extinction. Seven years ago the
Icarus project sent a mission to restart the sun but that
mission was lost before it reached the star. Sixteen months
ago, I, Robert Capa, and a crew of seven left earth
frozen in a solar winter. Our payload a stellar bomb with a
mass equivalent to Manhattan Island. Our purpose to
create a star within a star.” But of course, Murphy was a
stowaway on this trip. Things started to go wrong, people
started to get a little crazy, and then the consequences.
Aboard the Icarus II was a well assembled crew of actors and
performances. The characters were as expected; the best from
around the world in their respective fields. The actors,
although not extremely popular, are very recognizable
such as Michelle Yeoh, Rose Byrne, Cliff Curtis, Cillian
Murphy, and Chris Evans. They all portrayed their roles well
and each had a decent share of screen time, so nobody really
stood out. They were all stagnant, almost morbid in their
demeanor which accurately represented the psychological
state of human beings stuck in a relatively confined space
for well over a year.
One of the goals of this production was to be more NASA than
STAR WARS. They went to great lengths, including a lot
of time spent at NASA, to make this more science fact than
science fiction, a realistic space mission and not just a
fantasy. They did their homework and it shows. The space
ship Icarus design is
appropriate, captivating, and believable. A lot of thought
went into the space suit design as well. The suits are
unique and fitting for Sun travel. The cinematography and
special visual effects were stimulating. It is the movie’s
forte. I mean, you’re dealing with the Sun, so it had to be
extra special. The lighting had to be
extra special too and it was. On one side of the ship you
have point blank sunshine. The other side, the torso of the
ship, needed to be protected from the Sun so it was very
dark . . . very cool combination! Another feature of
this film that grabbed my attention was the sound. It was
eerie, powerful, loud, subtle, grand, or climactic
exactly as the scene required.
Director Danny Boyle has teamed up again with Writer Alex
Garland (both worked 28 Days Later, The Beach) to bring this
new frontier to the big screen. “I think it’s true, nobody’s
made a movie about the Sun, and it is the single thing
that’s more important than any other thing. If it blinks
out, we’re all dead in eight minutes and yet nobody’s
made a film about it. And I thought, that’s fantastic.
Obviously there’s also the idea of the psychological effects
of that on these people and what they see as they draw close
to the source of all life in the universe. That always
got me.” And you got me intrigued Danny. I commend you for
your courage in bringing us this work. You did hit the
dartboard, but didn’t quite get the bull’s-eye.
Movie
Review By Cine Marcos
cinemarcos@smartcine.com
VIDEO:
Widescreen
AUDIO:
English
5.1 Dolby Digital Spanish and French Dolby Surround
Subtitles - English, Spanish
French
BONUS FEATURES:
Audio Commentary By Director Danny
Boyle
Audio Commentary By Dr. Brian Cox of
the University of Manchester
Deleted Scenes With Commentary By Danny
Boyle: Includes a total 12 deleted scenes and an
alternative ending. The deleting scenes don't add anything
interesting to the film. Definitely the ending selected by
Danny Boyle was most appropriated for the film (8:56)
Web Production Diaries: This
feature covers everything related to the film production
from cast selection to special effects, a very complete
feature
Short Films: Contains two short
films "Dad’s Dead" Directed By Chris Shepherd and
"Mole Hills" Directed By Dan Arnold (7:05). The only short
film interesting here is "Dad’s Dead".
RATING BREAK DOWN:
FILM REVIEW |
 |
VIDEO |
 |
AUDIO |
 |
BONUS
FEATURES |
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