Everybody Loves the Sunshine

... but you don't see much of it in the future when the sun has almost burnt out, the planet earth is an ice-land (like Hoth in The Empire Strikes Back) and a crack team of scientists, engineers and other specialists are sent to jump-start the sun in a spaceship with a gigantic shield like a big golden mushroom cap. Danny Boyle (of Trainspotting and 28 Days Later) unfolds an outerspace journey with his latest Sunshine, which reveals more about the human psyche in crisis than it does about astronomy or physics. It was fascinating to follow the international cast aboard Icarus 2 through the first 3/4 of the film as they negotiated decision-making processes, personality conflicts, and hormonal outbursts all in the context of a mission to save the future of humanity. Of course the Japanese captain of the mission is the first to sacrifice himself to save his crew. And Tmonkey noted a major point of disbelief in the movie (I mean, besides to basic premise, of course): character played by British-Chinese Benedict Wong makes a calculation error that precipitates catastrophic consequences to the mission. OK an Asian mathematician would never make an error. Point taken. This was only one of several unbelievable plot points, but in a way it didn't matter. What was interesting was tracking the tenuous balance between the two sides of human nature: rational and irrational. Who is going to sacrifice himself in order to save the crew/mission/earth? Who has self-serving motives? And how well are they disguised? Many parts of the film are beautifully contemplative, reminiscent of Solaris (the Soderbergh, haven't seen the Tarkovsky - yet). That is, of course, until Icarus 2 meets its predecessor Icarus 1 -- a mission that had disappeared or been lost for mysterious reasons.

The last chunk of the film entirely abandons its musings on human nature and just goes for pure cheap shock & horror. The lone survivor of Icarus 1, the deranged and awfully sun-burnt captain, sneaks on board Icarus 2 and tries to destroy the ship before it fulfills its mission. Doe-eyed Cillian Murphy blossoms into a man of action and successfully kills the insane zombie and re-starts the sun with a big old nuke, allowing just a little more sunlight to reach the earth, prolonging the future of humanity ever-so-slightly. All-in-all, a fun summer sci-fi thriller with a sardonic balance between optimism and disgust for the human race.