Scratch

Here you will find older scratches, musings and other detritus that once were located on the front pages, but have now faded.

Filed away here to collect dust and cobwwwebs in perpetuity, links may break, facts may change and data may corrupt.

On occasion I may come down here to tidy, but for the most, I prefer to leave the past where it lies.

 

Sunshine

Last month, before the film went on general release, I got the opportunity to watch Sunshine, directed by Danny Boyle of Trainspotting, Shallow Grave and 28 Days Later fame. Gone are the gritty urban nightmares he has previously shown us and in their place, a glorious sleak Sci-fi film that is visually stunning and possibly even 2/3 of the way to being a epic sci-fi movie. Unfortunately its the first 2/3rds.

The film from the start is technically and visually stunning, with long periods given over to the Icarus II (obviously the irony of the Greek Legend was lost on the ships designers, especially given they now require a 'II') drifting slowly towards the sun, accompanied by a haunting Underworld soundtrack, in its mission to give it a kick-start. To be fair this is not something we haven't seen before - a single ship far from home when something goes awry, feelings of claustrophobia, isolation and helplessness are rife, and there are many nods to some of the great Sci-fi films - Alien, 2001, Solaris (either version), Silent Running. Like the films it attempts to stand against, the film slowly culminates throughout the first 2/3rds, generating this whole epic feel. Boyles direction is very stylised, and the decisions about the set, the costumes, and the grounding in physics, give it a uniqueness and a believability amongst its predecessors, enabling Boyle to create a movie that feels very much like them without looking superficially similar.

However, even before the chance encounter with the Icarus I, you can already sense the plot much like the protagonists life expectancy is about to dip sharply. It feels like either Boyle or Garland were unsure how to finish off, so return to something that more resembles 28 Days Later at best or Event Horizon not so at best. To be fair, if you like your horror flicks, you will not be disappointed by the last third, although it doesn't seem to sit well with what goes before so is a bit jarring as the pace rapidly increases. In the final scenes there is a return to the first 2/3rds and the payoff, if your willing to wait, is worth it.

The cast is an eclectic mix, with Cillian Murphy heading the list as the soulful physicist Capa, with good performances by Michelle Yeoh, Rose Byrne and Cliff Curtis. Perhaps one of the greater surprises was Chris Evans (of The Fantastic Four not TFI Friday before someone mentions it) who comes across as quite decisive and logical which lends a certain gravitas to his arguments.

I will certainly be picking up this film to watch at a later point, and although I suspect I will loose the argument, hopefully a blu-ray/HD-DVD version, a suitable player and a HiDef TV so I can truly immerse myself in the visuals. Perhaps there are pretensions to be greater than the film is, but it is worth watching.

3 May 2007 23:01 | (2) comments | Movies

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