Sunshine

Name: Sunshine
Genre: Adventure, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Released: July 20, 2007
Duration: 107 min
Rating: 64
Cast: Chris Evans, Cillian Murphy, Rose Byrne

2007

METASCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 34 Critic Reviews

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USER SCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 371 Ratings

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7.3

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7.3	User Score Generally favorable reviews based on 371 Ratings

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Sunshine

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Movie Details & Credits

Fox Searchlight Pictures | Release Date: July 20, 2007 | R

Starring: Chris Evans, Cillian Murphy, Rose Byrne

Summary: The sun is dying. It is no longer providing the energy and the light that mankind needs to survive on Earth. The entire global community pools its resources to send a mission into space to deliver a bomb to reignite the part of the sun that is failing. Our story concerns the eight astronauts and scientists who lead this mission. On theirThe sun is dying. It is no longer providing the energy and the light that mankind needs to survive on Earth. The entire global community pools its resources to send a mission into space to deliver a bomb to reignite the part of the sun that is failing. Our story concerns the eight astronauts and scientists who lead this mission. On their journey towards the sun the crew stumble upon the ship that was sent on the same mission seven years previously, the Icarus I, drifting in space. From this point on things start to go very wrong. Its about how the crew react under the enormous pressure of their endeavor to save mankind. (Fox Searchlight)… Expand

Director: Danny Boyle

Genre(s): Adventure, Sci-Fi, Thriller

Rating: R

Runtime: 107 min

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Critic Reviews

Sean Axmaker

A bare outline of the plot reads like a space-adventure thriller with end-of-the-world stakes and a hint of celestial spirituality, and the haunted spaceship twist in the third act is pure B-movie madness. Read full review

Manohla Dargis

A first-rate, seemingly sweat-free entertainer, Mr. Boyle always sells the goods smoothly, along with the chills, the laughs and, somewhat less often, the tears. He’s wickedly good at making you jump and squirm in your seat, which he does often in Sunshine, but he tends to avoid tapping into deep wells of emotion. Read full review

James Berardinelli

Hard-core science fiction fans will likely greet Sunshine with a smile. Others may find this to be an odd motion picture, but there's enough going on that even those who are expecting something flashier should still be engaged. Read full review

Kenneth Turan

For though it can't maintain its momentum all the way to the end, Sunshine until it stumbles is gratifyingly far from the usual space-opera stuff. Read full review

Elizabeth Weitzman

The whole thing burns out well before the director reaches his final destination. Read full review

Derek Elley

Like a collapsing star, Sunshine initially burns brightly but finally implodes into a dramatic black hole. Read full review

Mick LaSalle

Directed by Danny Boyle, it lacks even a single moment of charm or interest. Read full review

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User Reviews

Skulb

May 1, 2013

Spoiler alert!
Reading reviews of Sunshine is a profoundly depressing experience, and reminds me that western culture is in its last death throes. Every single archetype, symbolism and cultural alliteration swushes as completely and utterly over the heads of reviewers as a Star TrekSpoiler alert!
Reading reviews of Sunshine is a profoundly depressing experience, and reminds me that western culture is in its last death throes. Every single archetype, symbolism and cultural alliteration swushes as completely and utterly over the heads of reviewers as a Star Trek spaceship, before they proceed to complain about narratives they don`t understand because of illiteracy and an ending they understand even less for the same reason.
On a first viewing, Sunshine is a visually impressive, if claustrophobic story of a group of scientists on their way to reignite the Sun with the largest nuclear bomb in NATO history. Nothing special there, and if this is all the movie remains for you, more impressive movies can certainly be found. But even on a first viewing it should be obvious that there is another story being told that reaches down into the very foundations of western cultural traditions. You`d think reviewers born and raised in the west might notice this therefore. No such luck!
To mention all the symbolism, religious and cultural references contained in Sunshine is not easy; indeed I may not even have noticed them all. But from the basic allegory of the Sun as truth/God/creating force present in the Greek, Egyptian, Roman and Christian traditions, many of them are so evident I squirm with embarrassment on behalf of those who fail to notice even any of it.
The first is the ship in which they travel, named Icarus after the Greek mythological figure who flew too close to the Sun so his wings fell off. As with everything else this is not a literal event being retold, but an allegory regarding the force of truth/God and the futility of trying to become God. If the entire movie is viewed as an allegory of the search for truth, you could easily see that most reviewers would need very powerful sunglasses indeed. If this is correct though, the gatekeeper of truth is the movie`s nemesis, Penbacker, who seeks to destroy the Icarus and prevent the crew from reigniting the Sun, by killing them all. Like a Syrian pillar hermit he has spent seven years close to God (the Sun) and presumes to have understood the futility of denying the death of God (truth), and aggressively seeks to prevent anyone from reigniting the Sun/remaking God/finding truth.
The actual bomb is triggered from a cross-shaped scaffolding. The cross was traditionally a symbol of the rebirth of God, even before Christianity. Around this cross is a square, representing order. Logically then, as the bomb goes off and God (The Sun) is reborn on the Cross, the main character (Capo) transcends, is reborn as God and a new order begins.
This is why the ending to the movie is the way it is. Not to be weird but to tell an allegorical story about God/truth/rebirth. To the allegorical illiterates in this weird society this is all nonsense of course, and Sunshine is a bad movie because it`s not simple enough for them.

I could obviously talk more about all this, and it would be nice if at least one conversation about Sunshine would. Some people detest allegory and wouldn`t recognize a cultural symbol if it jumped up and gave them a haircut, which is perfectly fine. But it might be helpful if the people criticizing this splendid movie understood what an allegory is at least. Personally I firmly believe that certain things can`t be properly communicated without them, as my puny attempts to verbalize them here should illustrate, and I feel that movies with allegorical depth are the only ones that ever become classics. Much the same can be said of literature. And if it`s allegorical depth you want you can`t find a better movie than Sunshine. I defiantly vote 10!… Expand

10 of 18 users found this helpful108

Steve

Jan 21, 2008

I was a little skeptical at first, but this turned out to be a terrific movie. Very interesting story and nicely produced.