Visually the film is astounding. Made for $50 million, not that much for a film of this scale, every penny is utilised. When you make a movie set predominantly in a spaceship, it’s tough to make yours look any different from those that have come before it. Danny Boyle has clearly been hugely influenced by Alien but the set he creates is quite unlike anything we’ve seen before. Check out the living garden, created to provide oxygen for the crew. The budget is also stretched to include some stunning imagery, Boyle fully using the danger and beauty of the sun to its fullest extent.

As the film goes into it’s final act, things change dramatically. There’s a wonderful shock moment where the remaining members realise what’s really going on and a collective gasp can be then heard from everyone in the theater. But this soon gives way to violent silliness and what could have been a great movie rests on just being a good one. Without wishing to ruin things too much, the final 30 minutes feel like they could have been snatched from Event Horizon.

For the most part however, Sunshine is a fascinating folly. It’s one which may not sit easy with an action-hungry Saturday night audience but sci-fi fans will surely lap up it’s emphasis on science over fiction. Picking out a standout cast member is tough since the efficiency of the film results in a lack of genuine character development. I guess this does help to position us in a similar place as the crew, realising that the mission is more important than their lives. But then that could just be an easy excuse. What it does mean is that Sunshine is an easy film to admire but a hard film to love.

Releasing the movie in July, after most of the world have already seen it, does mean that it will come as a breath of fresh air to American audiences. After all of the high-budget, low-impact froth, it’s finally time for something you can really sink your teeth into.

Movie Grade: B

Synopsis:

The Sun is dying, and mankind is dying with it. Our last hope: a spaceship and a crew of eight men and women. They carry a device which will breathe new life into the star. But deep into their voyage, out of radio contact with Earth, their mission is starting to unravel. Soon the crew are fighting not only for their lives, but their sanity.

The film once again pairs director Danny Boyle with writer Alex Garland and producer Andrew Macdonald, who previously teamed up for the thinking person’s zombie film, 28 DAYS LATER.