2009 really has been the year of Danny Boyle after the Oscar success of Slumdog Millionaire, and if you have been in another planet it scooped eight gongs including Best Picture, but Sunshine was the movie he made for this mammoth hit.
Sunshine is this week's hidden gem as it was a movie that few appreciated on the big screen, which is a major shame.
A team of astronauts are on a mission to re-ignite the sun, which is dying, causing the earth to slowly freeze. The Icarus 2 mission is the second attempt to re-ignite the sun after Icarus 1 disappeared seven years before.
As they fly past Mercury they discover Icarus 1 still in orbit. So the crew weigh up the pros and cons of changing their course of their mission to reach the stricken vessel.
The decision to change course is left to scientist Capa (Murphy), who is the only crew member who can deploy the package (the bomb which will ignite the sun). He chooses to help Icarus 1 and discover if their package will still work, arguing that two chances of igniting the sun is better than their one.
However a string of accidents, happening as a result of the change of course, leaves Icarus 2 with barely enough oxygen to reach the sun and deploy the bomb let alone make the return trip home. There's also a stranger on board the ship hell bent on stopping their mission.
Sunshine is a sci-fi spectacular meets intimate drama, a great movie which so many people missed on its theatrical release.
This is not a movie with actors dressed up in silly alien costumes to scare the kids this is intelligent adult sci-fi which takes a good look at what would happen should the star which provides life on this planet die. It very subtly highlights the environmental problems that the planet is currently facing without rubbing it in the face of the audience.
It's not just a sci-fi movie it's an intensely claustrophobic, psychological thriller where the crew have no where to run and no where to hide.
It's an observation of human behaviour and how these eight crew members have lived and breathed this mission for two years and will face a further two years on the trip home.
Tension is rising between Capa and Mace (Evans), there's a love interest between Capa and Cassie (Byrne) and Searle is slowly becoming obsessed with looking at the sun.
Despite good performances from this superb cast the starring role goes to the sun itself. The huge spectacle indifferent and ominous injects jeopardy and terror into the film as Icarus 2 cowers behind it's huge heat reflecting shield as humanities last hope.
Boyle does however realise that when under scrutiny many of the scenes and scenarios that the crew face just do not stand up and this requires an leap of faith from the audience.
Despite this the sheer size of Sunshine is truly breathtaking. It's an intensely visual experience, which accompanied by a powerful score, is to be felt as well as seen that the small screen doesn't do it justice.
If you are a fan of the North West's most beloved son Danny Boyle then Sunshine is a movie that you really need to have in your collection.
FemaleFirst Helen Earnshaw
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