Quick Review: Sunshine (2007)

A science-fiction thriller with a more deliberate, philosophical undercurrent, Sunshine is a remarkable movie concerning a bunch of scientists and astronauts attempting to use a massive bomb to "restart" the dying sun. The visuals are gorgeous, the script, courtesy of Alex Garland who later wrote and directed Ex Machina and Annihilation, is quite intellectual and focused more on realism and the questions of morality that the characters face as things go wrong and resources dwindle. There are brave sacrifices and queries of which crew member is more valuable to the mission, all within a framework of plausible science. The score by John Murphy is also great, and a particular track ("Adagio in D Minor") is instantly iconic.

Every actor feels very believable in their roles, and while the characters don't have a lot of depth and are largely defined by their contributions to the expedition, the actors' performances help make their characters come to life and feel more rounded, allowing the audience to get more invested in the questions posed by the story and thus care more about the characters despite how little we know about them.

The story's final third is a point of contention for many, given how it pivots from a relatively realistic sci-fi story to... something else. It makes for a bit of a jarring shift in tone, though the spirit of the film is unchanged. I actually liked the shift mainly because it brought a change in pace as well as tone, and I found the more frenetic pacing of the last third makes for a more tense climax along with the pivot in tone.

Sunshine is a cerebral sci-fi film, and is utterly gripping. I definitely recommend it!

太陽倒數是一套科幻驚悚片，講述一班太空人和科學家，要在大陽完全死亡之前，用一個巨型的炸彈嘗試重啟太陽。 這套電影的劇本（編劇是Ex Machina 編劇兼導演 Alex Garland）比較著重真實感， 亦都探討很多宗教、科學和道德議題，尤其是當各種問題開始出現，各人面對種種困難的決定時，要選擇誰要為任務犧牲、 誰是任務不可或缺的一部份。

每一位演員的演出非常出色，即使每個角色不是刻劃得太深，主要只是圍繞他們在任務上的職責，但每位演員都令他們的角色活靈活現，使觀眾能夠投入故事並關心每位角色的存亡。故事的尾段比較多爭議，因為發生了一個重大的轉變，令到故事的性質不再只是一個較現實的科幻片，而是加入了另一類電影的元素。這個轉變確實是比較突然的，但我其實不太介意，因為這個改變亦都加快了電影的節奏，令高潮位更加緊張。

太陽倒數是一套有內涵的科幻片，絕對不容錯過！非常值得推介！