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 Critics

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USER SCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 331 Ratings

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7.3

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7.3	User Score Generally favorable reviews based on 331 Ratings

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SUNSHINE

Movie Details & Credits

Fox Searchlight Pictures | Release Date: July 20, 2007

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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Awards & Rankings

32	#32 Most Discussed Movie of 2007
29	#29 Most Shared Movie of 2007

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Metascore

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Critic Reviews

Seattle Post-Intelligencer - 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

The New York Times - 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

ReelViews - 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

Los Angeles Times - 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

New York Daily News - Elizabeth Weitzman

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

Variety - Derek Elley

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

San Francisco Chronicle - 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

8 of 15 users found this helpful87

AlexanderM

Jan 18, 2008

This is a wonderful move; one of my all-time favorites. My initial interest was in the sci-fi aspect of the movie, but after the 'rising action' starts it becomes a lot more than a typical "save-the-world-in-a-spaceship" and forces you to think a lot about life, mortality and This is a wonderful move; one of my all-time favorites. My initial interest was in the sci-fi aspect of the movie, but after the 'rising action' starts it becomes a lot more than a typical "save-the-world-in-a-spaceship" and forces you to think a lot about life, mortality and human purpose. A lot of the ideas are just beneath the surface. If you can shrug-off some of the insensibilities, suspend your disbelief and enter with an open mind, you might find a new movie to add to your favorites. If you just can't get past all the little imperfections, you're in for a rough ride. I loved this movie -- an instant favorite for me.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful

helloyou

Jan 8, 2008

Dunno what some of these guys are talking about. It's a movie, so you can't base it completely in our reality. But even if you do, nothing is too absurd to believe in this movie. I really enjoyed this movie. I rented it with 3:10 to Yuma and ended up watching both the same day and Dunno what some of these guys are talking about. It's a movie, so you can't base it completely in our reality. But even if you do, nothing is too absurd to believe in this movie. I really enjoyed this movie. I rented it with 3:10 to Yuma and ended up watching both the same day and Sunshine sticks in my mind far more. The beautiful imagery alone is worth watching this movie. On top of that the cast was great all around, especially Cillain Murphy (as usual) and the guy from the Fanastic Four movies was suprising excellent (dunno his name atm). Both these guys really carried the movie for me. Once you think you have seen everything there is to see in the movie and think it may start to get a bit redundant it completely throws you a new angle a little more than halfway through. Some people have a problem with this...I don't know why...for me it was the best part of the entire movie.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful

AlexC

Aug 6, 2007

Sunshine is an excellent, but flawed, movie. Boyle asks you to follow him as the film slides from sci-fi voyage to action-adventure to (very briefly) horror. Unlike some reviewers, I had no problem with this. The major flaw is in the last 20 minutes, when the flow of action becomes somewhat Sunshine is an excellent, but flawed, movie. Boyle asks you to follow him as the film slides from sci-fi voyage to action-adventure to (very briefly) horror. Unlike some reviewers, I had no problem with this. The major flaw is in the last 20 minutes, when the flow of action becomes somewhat muddled (though stunningly shot). This is the rare movie that could stand to be 10 minutes longer; a few more short scenes would better situate the action at the end. Beautiful, thought-provoking, and tense.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful

Phil

Jan 21, 2008

I think a lot of people judge this film too harshly. It isn't perfect, but it is a decent entry into the sci-fi category.

0 of 0 users found this helpful

hollyc

Sep 2, 2007

Users: "Lao 3D" and "Guy W." gave a pretty good surmise of my thoughts on Sunshine, so I won't repeat it. However, I'll add that if you've watched (or read) "The Beach"--another Alex Garland story, there's a bit of the same tell-tale twists (some would say silly twists) Users: "Lao 3D" and "Guy W." gave a pretty good surmise of my thoughts on Sunshine, so I won't repeat it. However, I'll add that if you've watched (or read) "The Beach"--another Alex Garland story, there's a bit of the same tell-tale twists (some would say silly twists) at the end that are somewhat predictable now---which is disappointing. Actually, most of the plot turns in Sunshine are pretty predictable, but more in that, cliche' of space opera stories told countless times sort of way. However, the visuals throughout are pretty stunning---though the audio was a little overdone--especially given the best part of the film to me was the quiet psychology of the crew and their task. That area gets a little lost as the movie goes on but I'd still say it was an ok movie. Not great, that's for sure---but not terrible either. Definitely derivative (& boring in that sense) but worth a DVD rental for sure.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful

SeanP.

Jul 23, 2007

The San Francisco Chronicle, namely Mick LaSalle, was correct. Pure cinematic dreck.

0 of 1 users found this helpful

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