Sunshine: Brainy sci-fi at its finest

We as human beings like to believe that we control our own destinies and, if threatened by something such as mass extinction, we would do everything in our power to stop this. But there is also another school of thought which posits that perhaps a threat such as mass extinction is beyond our control and it should be left to a higher power to decide if mankind goes the way of the dinosaur. No, I am not starting a theological debate, merely outlining what the film Sunshine attempted to explore.

Eight astronauts take off in a spacehip called Icarus II to deliver a nuclear bomb to the sun's core in order to restart it. They not only face the usual dangers associated with space travel, but their journey is also complicated by the fact that they discover Icarus I (the spaceship which made the first attempt at restarting the sun) abandoned.

Beyond the solid acting provided by the international cast, the filmmakers are to be commended for creating a sci-fi film that was not only entertaining but also challenged the audience to think about just what Sunshine was trying to show/say. Director Danny Boyle's stunning visuals and screenwriter Alex Garland's smart script were able to draw the audience in by presenting them with an intriguing sci-fi plot. They then ratcheted up the intensity, both action and thrill-wise, during the final quarter of the film before the decisive showdown between Kappa (Cillian Murphy), the scientist and Pinbacker (Mark Strong), the man of religion which was essentially a philosophically-driven throwdown for the fate of humanity. It is hard to believe that filmmakers would tackle a complex debate like science vs. religion and how each could figure in destroying or saving mankind but Boyle and Garland did it in such a way as to not seem preachy or overbearing. They utilized the sci-fi genre to explore this matter and did so with tremendously effective gusto. There are probably naysayers that will point to the lack of sustained action or the somewhat obvious visual cues Boyle seemed to borrow from another thriller set in space (i.e. Alien) as detriments to the film but Sunshine was never meant to be seen as a monster movie.

Sunshine was a bombastic journey that did not shy away from exploring the type of philosophical debate one would not expect to have after the credits rolled.

Grade: B+