Am I Alone in Hating Sunshine?
Actually, hate is a strong word. I very much liked the ambition of Danny Boyle’s recent flick, ‘Sunshine.’ I saw it back in April while in Japan and I wasn’t alone in the chief criticism of the film. (Here, there be Spoilers) At the beginning of the film, though, we are presented with a crew of astronauts dealing with long-term space flight. This is a pretty amazing concept for a modern film, and while I wasn’t completely pleased by the execution, I loved the fact there was no antagonist. All the tension and conflict arose from simple chance or human error instead of some malevolent hand.
And then the malevolent hand appears 2/3rds of the way though. Malevolence, thy name is Pinbacker and with his scorched flesh and super-strength, the film lost me. I could’ve walked out right then because I was so appalled by Freddy Krugger/Pinhead appearing in what had been a courageous departure from the way sci-fi movies are made these days.
When we left the theatre, we all agreed the major flaw of the film was Pinbacker’s appearance.
It seems, though, now that the film is in the states, Danny Boyle is getting a pass. Eh? I know he directed Trainspotting and 28 Days Later, but seriously, we’re letting him slide on this? How do I obtain such a pass?
Future Threat and the Hope of Progress 
It’s a tough one. The first two thirds were fantastic and I didn’t have a problem with the basic scope of the ending just the reliance on the crutch of the Krueger-esque psycho. There was a germ of an idea in the whole desire to be the last man left alive so that he could meet God. But…how the heck did he survive 7 years in his physical condition? Couldn’t Boyle and Garland have found a way to fuse the wonderful character driven tension of the voyage, the final disastrous end to he journey and the existential questioning that rises out of this without having to bring the crew of the Daedalus back to life?
Having heard your review prior to seeing Sunshine I went in with low expectations of the twist and it wasn’t as bad as I was expecting. All in all the strengths of the film managed to overcome the pointless inclusion of the naked Mr. Krueger.
Christ it’s awful.