Sunshine - Page 2

And posts like this are why I read Chud. Thanks for that first paragrapgh: I have a new research project ahead of me.

Agree on the freezing comment.

I would say that this highlights why so little SF works in the movies. Had I not just read your post I would have lumped Sunshine in with The Core in terms of plausability. Certainly there is nothing in the film to make the case for what they are doing.

Contrast Sunshine with The Fountain, which I would classify as SF even though it adopts a lyrical approach (and yes Hugh Jackman floating through space in a bubble is much less believable than anything in Sunshine....but it works damnit!)

I was very impressed by Chris Evans in this film. The pragmatic asshole that I couldn't hate. He was too logical and too right. And he was just doing his job. I generally loved the casting of this film. So diverse and colorblind.

As for that 3rd act, I was completely taken out of the movie on a narrative level and in a cinematic level. What was with all the flashy editing tricks (speed-up, freeze-frame, cutaways)? I hated those bits and I usually love cinematic tricks like that.

I agree that Chris Evans should be getting better work. He was awesome in this.

As for the editing, my take was that the massive energies of the sun and the bomb were warping the fabric of space and time, and it was an attempt to represent that the characters were experiencing reality differently than anyone ever has, or as the more spiritually-minded characters might call it, looking into the face of God.

I watched this last night. I enjoyed it quite a bit. I do wish they had kept up with the threat being from inside the ship. By that I mean the crew breaking down. Inevitably they have to know and realize this is a suicide mission on so many levels. And then there is just the grandeur of being at the Sun. This is going to have to send some thinking and over analyzing.

By the way, I didn't think the psychologist was going crazy. He seemed like a any other psychologist I studied under. They are all a little "off." He talks about how darkness was the absence of something where as the light was overwhelming. He wanted to know what that much light felt like. What emotions would it bring out. That is how I saw him at least. Not so much looking for God, but looking for what this does to a person. And in the end, he is left alone on a ship where he no longer has to worry about his mission or taking care of the crew.

The captain from the other ship coming on board almost seems like something the studio or financiers put in there. There is too much going on with the crew and the ship and the mission itself for that addition to be warranted. They should have just kept this the team on a mission dealing with the vastness of space and what they are doing.

I also really wish they had let the actors keep their true accents as well. I think it would have kept more with what a mission like this would really be like. Sure English would be the primary language on the ship, but the accents would still come through.

I think this thread is fascinating. People just hate that 3rd act. For whatever reason I think the concept of the first captain going insane from direct exposure to the power of God (i.e. the direct sunlight), and his human brain not being able to handle it (nor was it ever intended to be able to handle it or be that close to the sun) completely intreging. We get hints of this when the psychiatrist starts taking the sunbaths and feels the power of God, but doesn't comprehend that it is the power of God and only knows that it is extremely pleasant.

So on this level I found the 3rd act sort of brilliant. I also liked how the captain was so hazy and seemed to radiate the energy he had been bathing in for so long. And he spoke like a dilusional David Caresh... And the fact that the direct exposure to the power of God gave him superhuman power... If anything, I just wanted a little more from the 3rd.

I know people will disagree with this and slam it, but these are the reasons I dug it.

The movie worked for me. But, the captain felt like a forced addition. Really, I could have done with more of the crew trying to keep each other and their own selves in check.

The soundtrack has just been released on iTunes.

All those ideas you mention are actually very interesting to me as well. And the movie does set them up. I just thought the execution of those things you liked about the movie became a total mess. The editing got too crazy and distracting for me to find the events of much interest anymore.

In more recent news, as Casey mentioned, the score is finally out on iTunes! I bought it (and Slumdog Millionaire as well) and it's great to finally have a good quality version of the score to listen to. Unfortunately, some of the tracks have some dialogue from the film in it, which I generally find to be annoying.

I think the Captain and Surel are meant to be the same "person" experiencing the same things but reaching two different conclusions.

The Captain of the first mission goes insane and believes the mission to be an affront to God and seeks to end it. He sees it as Judgement and wrath. Surel, on the other hand, sees it as something beautiful, warm and maybe even hopeful. Look at the two opposite reactions both have: The Captain goes homicidal to stop both missions and Surel sacrifices himself to save his mission.

This movie rules and people who don't like the ending are queer.

Watched this with the girlfriend, and she was with it until Pinbacker showed up. Her exact words when Capa walks into the observation room: "What...the...fuck?"

 

I was prepared for this, as this was my second viewing, but it only sat a little better. Up until the near end this is a beautiful movie, with compelling characters, an amazing aesthetic and visuals, and moving music. 

 

It's too bad that Pinbacker is covered in makeup and blurred by crazy camera tricks, as we all know Mark Strong has turned out to be one of the better villain actors, and as an actor in general, of the last decade. What a waste. 

 

Rose Byrne isn't given enough to do. She's a beautiful woman, she can play tough (X-Men: First Class) and relatable everywoman (Insidious), but here she's vague love interest and damsel in distress. Her only provocative moments are when she refuses to vote on Trey's death. This was the movie, however, that convinced me of Chris Evans' inherent ability to be Captain America. I love how, here, he's the good soldier but is forced to make the hard decisions. Cillian Murphy is actually a bit of a weak lead. It might be bias on my part, but I can't view him as anything other than creepy or a waif. His sacrifice is valiant at the end, but his struggle looks so pathetic it feels almost out of luck. 

 

Would the narrative have worked better if Trey had turned out to be the saboteur before committing suicide? Or was some version of Pinbacker necessary? 

 

Uplifting ending almost makes up for the preceding twenty minutes. Love the callback and minimalist view of future Earth.