Sunshine - 5/5

I finally had the chance to borrow a copy of "Sunshine" from a good friend of mine. Being a "28 Days Later" fan and a fan of science fiction in general, I was a bit shamed to say I hadn't seen this movie. After seeing it, I feel even more shamed it took me this long to get to it. "Sunshine" is a brilliant modern film, a stunningly epic science fiction film, and an instant classic.

"Sunshine" follows a crew of eight as they travel from a winter scarred Earth to the Sun on a large space craft carrying the universe's biggest 'i'm going to fuck you up' bomb in tow. Their mission: throw this bomb into the dying sun and reignite that motherfucker so the human race to continue to live on the now frozen Earth. Of course, as with any great film, things don't go according to plan and the space shit hits the space fan.

I must first mention the visual side of "Sunshine". This bad boy was epic, well crafted, and downright bombastic when it came to visual work. The ship design, the sets, the gold suits, the cramped and often nightmarish corridors all build on this modern telling of the space traveler story and do it beautifully. This film looks both scary and damn awe inspiring all at the same time, and Danny Boyle's clean cut mix of old and new tactics to camera work and directing just bring out the best. This is perhaps the most upfront and impressive part of "Sunshine".

What I loved about this film the most though, was its combination of epic and subtle and how it meshed together. The use of negative space (that being silence and nothing) makes the intensity and scale of the film all the more impressive. With stellar acting work from the entire cast (no MVPs here as they work as a team and individually like their all masters of the craft) and a story that is simple on the surface but insanely detailed in its subtlety and layers, there is not a single thing to dislike about "Sunshine" in my opinion. From its opening credits to its final and somewhat calming final moments, I was riveted to the screen barely able to peel my attention away, and that says something spectacular.

I cannot recommend this film enough. I would even go as far as to compare it to this generation's "2001" in both classic status and flare. Great symbolism and thought provoking concepts will have you watching this again and again to gather it all in. 

Written By Matt Reifschneider