Sunshine is Gonna Kick Ass

Can You Feel the Heat?

Let’s ignore the science of this concept for the time being; I really can’t tell you whether detonating a bomb in the Sun is reasonable or not. OK, it sounds unreasonable. But it also sounds interesting, doesn’t it?


Flying Into the Sun

If you’ve been reading my posts at all, you’ve probably come to realize that I’m a bit of a curmudgeon. OK, I’m downright bitter. Don’t ask me about what – the internet isn’t big enough to hold that post.

But I do enjoy some things and I get excited about others. Take the upcoming movie Sunshine, the latest Danny Boyle film coming out on July 20. You can watch the trailer here.

There isn’t a lot of sci-fi these days. We’re mostly inundated with formulaic romantic comedies, Bruckheimer explosion manifestos and animated portrayals of {insert animal or insect here}. While I can understand the general criticism that sci-fi is geeky, the genre is usually capable of producing thoughtful visions of the future, sometimes with very relevant permutations of present day concerns. Perhaps the fact that it’s thoughtful is exactly its problem. But that’s another post.

It is into this void that Sunshine steps. It’s 50 years in the future, and the Sun is being destroyed from inside out by a form of matter that renders nuclear fusion impossible. Of course, if the Sun dies, so does man. So mankind’s only hope is to send a team of astronauts to detonate a massive bomb to destroy this strange matter and restore the Sun's natural state. OK, that isn’t quite a present day concern, but it’s pretty original, as movie conflict goes.

Let’s ignore the science of this concept for the time being; I really can’t tell you whether detonating a bomb in the Sun is reasonable or not. OK, it sounds unreasonable. But it also sounds interesting, doesn’t it?

IMO, this movie’s success will likely hinge on special effects, tone, and character.

* Special Effects – we’re dealing more with the Sun here than in any movie I can remember. It will be interesting to see the different ways they portray the great star, and its effect on the characters.
* Tone – will this be a dark, bleak film? You would have to anticipate that, given the subject matter and the fact that Boyle has made Trainspotting and 28 Days Later. If he went light and airy on this, you’d have another Armageddon on your hands, and nobody wants that. Hell, nobody deserves that.
* Character – who are these people? We know they’re astronauts, but who are they really? we’re looking at a very grim situation: the Sun is dying, and so might man be. We’ll see if Boyle is able to make us care by how well he attaches us to the characters. Boyle tends to cast some relatively unknown actors, but that’s never worked against him, IMO. Ewan McGregor and Cillian Murphy (who is in this film) have done fine work for the director and elsewhere.

I’m highly anticipating this movie. Let’s hope my expectations don’t sabotage my reception.