Skip to main content

Sunshine (2007) Film Review


Welcome to Icarus II, a suicide mission to try and reignite the sun. 


55 million miles from home, a team of astronauts travel through space on a collision course for the sun. Their ship contains a massive thermal nuclear weapon in an effort to fling the bomb into the sun to reignite its core. 


As they travel closer to the sun and pass Mercury, they are presented with a dilemma as they discover the remains of Icarus 1. The team must discuss and assess the risk moving forward as their chance of succeeding has now potentially doubled if they choose to secure the payload on the stranded Icarus 1. 


I found myself entranced immediately as the film began, from the incredible visuals to the relatable crew, the tension of the situation, and the vigorous sounds of outer space. 


The 8 men and women of Icarus are designed to embody a religious or spiritual allegory as they each cling to something to emphasize their beliefs. The development of each character throughout the film comes full circle as they have to face their belief or make a decision based on their belief.


One character in particular that really stands out is Searle played by Cliff Curtis. He spends many moments alone in an observation deck mesmerizing over the direct view of the sun. These scenes hold a great deal of symbolism as he clings onto the one thing left in life, the sun. His peaked curiosity and obsession desperately want to view the sun in all of its glory but he is warned that viewing for long periods of time is damaging to his body.  This parabolic story encompasses everything about life and its fragility.


The third act of the film is where many people might feel lost and rightfully so as it shifts gears and adds a bit of a horror element as the crew encounters Icarus 1. Though there are a lot of moments leading to this encounter, the music and cinematography which helped emphasize the tense horror scenes, should have been a bit more prominent throughout the film. Now, this is not to downplay the score or cinematography by any means, because both are exceptional. 


Composer, John Murphy's iconic score has stood the test of time as his Adagio in D Minor is a brilliant song that was composed for this film. This timeless track has been used in many other films and throughout popular culture ever since, most recently in the flight scene of Wonder Woman 1984.


Regardless of some of the third act missteps, the film overall is one of the best science fiction films to come out in the last 20 years and is definitely worth a watch. 


Overall: 3.5 / 5


Plot: 7/10

Theme: 8/10

Acting: 8/10

Script: 8/10

Directing: 7/10

Score/Music: 8/10

Cinematography: 8/10

Editing/Effects: 8/10

Uniqueness: 7/10

Rewatchability: 7/10

Popular posts from this blog

Boss Level Film Review

       Boss Level is a new addition to the time loop genre, with a twist. Ex-special forces officer, Roy Pulver, played by Frank Grillo, relives the same day until he dies. Every day he is hunted by assassins and when killed, he wakes up back in his bed where he started, only to have to try and survive all over again. Roy has no idea why he is stuck in this infinite time loop but he must do what he can to survive, and the longer he survives, the more he uncovers about his particular situation.  Unlike most action films that take time to build up, this film gets right into it and offers tons of non-stop combat sequences that would satisfy any lover of action films. Its erratic flow makes for some fun action scenes which come out of nowhere since Roy can expect the assassins to attack at any moment. If you play video games often and have ever been stuck on a level for hours or even days, you know the feeling of having to repeat the same thing over and over again u...

Godzilla vs. Kong Film Review

         Godzilla versus Kong is the action movie we have been longing for since all major blockbuster films pushed back their release dates. After three solo films between Kong and Godzilla, we finally see the two titans clash on film for the first time in what is the culmination of the Universal Monsterverse. The story is split nicely in two as team Kong and team Godzilla each have their own mission. Team Kong is on a secret mission to the center of the earth to uncover the mystery of the titans. This team consists of Dr. Nathan, Dr. Ilene, Maia, and the Youngest character in the film, Jia. Team Godzilla consists of Madison, Josh, and Bernie who are also on a secret mission, to infiltrate Apex Cybernetics with the theory that they are up to no good and are the reason why Godzilla has been acting up recently. The dynamics of the teams are well balanced as the Kong story provides us with serious and more action-heavy bits in contrast to the Apex team story that ...

Inside Out 2 | Review by: Stefano Bove

  Nine years ago, Pixar introduced us to Riley, a young girl who is trying to grow with change happening with herself and her family. Her emotions; joy, anger, sadness, fear and disgust help her through these difficult times.   Now two years, Riley is 13 and is going through new life changes physically and emotionally as she tries to grip with the reality that the rest of her life relies on how the next weekend goes. All of these changes spark new emotions to grow inside of her.  It is a tough time for Riley that she must overcome. It is a snapshot in time that is probably a big emotional trigger for audiences as well as we go on this journey with Riley. Taking the incredibly intricate memory world that was established in the first film, the sequel makes a few minor additions that allow it to feel familiar but still fresh enough to keep us engaged. Many of these new additions are some of the funniest moments in the entire series.  With more emotions and human charact...