Movie Loner

I’m kicking off sci-fi week at Movie Loner with an overlooked prize from last year, Sunshine. Director Danny Boyle seems to run hot and cold. Shallow Grave, Trainspotting and 28 Days Later are minor classics. A Life Less Ordinary and The Beach are almost unwatchable. The talented, genre-jumping Boyle scores a bullseye taking aim at a tried-and-true sci-fi storyline: the doomed space mission.

The sun is dying. The Icarus Project sends a ship but it disappears. Seven years later Icarus II is dispatched, a crew of eight astronauts armed with a stellar bomb designed to reignite the fading star. On approach to Mercury they pickup a distress signal from Icarus I. A heated debate among the team leads to a decision to change course and rendezvous with the lost ship. An omission by the navigator sets off a disastrous chain of events that jeopardizes the operation.

The crippled vessel docks with Icarus I. Oxygen, food, and water are abundant offering the crew hope. But evidence of sabotage and the disturbing death of Icarus I’s astronauts raise suspicions. A curious mechanical failure proves fatal for two and traps the remaining crew aboard a sinking Icarus II. As bodies drop the surviving team discovers they are not alone on their ship. A strange presence threatens to terminate the mission before its completion.

Sunshine accurately depicts the strengths and weaknesses of humans. Our ability to think, or over-think, often lands us in a shitload of trouble. But it’s our willingness to sacrifice ourselves and our determination to do what’s right that makes us unique. The film also correctly portrays us to be a bunch of meddlers. Should we screw with forces beyond our control and comprehension? Most great science fiction poses this question. There is no simple answer. Watch Sunshine and you’ll understand what I mean. Stay tuned tomorrow for episode two of sci-fi week.

A scene from Sunshine: