Ok, I’m not aloud to write a review just yet, but just like I did with the ‘Hot Fuzz’ screening I caught, I have to deliver my initial reactions before I start to read anyone else’s views or start to hear ‘buzz’ …. I won’t reveal any plot points or talk about anything too particular (In case you think I’ll ruin it for you).

This is probably going to sting for those of you in the US as I read that ‘Sunshine’ has been pushed back to much later in the year (November I think?) and the fact is that ‘Sunshine is really good, and If I don’t talk about it i’m going to have to hurt myself to keep it all bottled up.

Honestly I wasn’t that excited for ‘Sunshine’, especially when you compare it to some of the other films I’ve been getting worked up about, but after seeing it… all I can say is wow. This film really came out of nowhere for me, it snuck up on me and shiv’d me in the spine like a fat convict.

Here’s the brief plot synopsis so we’re all on the same page:

50 years into the future, the Sun begins to die, and Earth is frozen in an eternal winter as a result. A team of astronauts are sent to revive the sun by passing a giant explosive device into it’s heart and hopefully reigniting it as a star. The mission fails, and the ‘Icarus I’ is never heard from again. Seven years later, a new team aboard the ‘Icarus II’ are sent to finish the mission

First of all the film looks beautiful, it’s really a step-up for Boyle looks wise, and it could easily pass as a big-budget summer film because the whole thing just emanates from the screen. It throws people between incredibly bright sunlight and dark shadow, and there was more than a couple of moments that visually took my breath away and had me literally in awe of what I was seeing. I should also mention the sound-design, as there were moments when the ship passed by the camera or something big happened on screen and the sound in the theatre was making my body rattle so much I felt a little bit sick…it was incredible.

I think deep down I was actually prepared to be let down by ‘Sunshine’ as I have been in a couple of Boyle’s other films. ‘28 Days later’ and ‘the Beach’ both lost me at about the half way mark and i was ready for Sunshine to do the same. The drop off never came, but in it’s place was a second and third act that had me on the edge of my seat right up until the end. I think the last film I was this tense in was ‘The Descent’ and that was almost too much to bear, and I loved it.

All I can really say is Sunshine is really…. really good. It’s (in my opinion) Boyle’s best film to date by far and away, and keeps you so gripped to the screen I felt like I might have a stroke from concentrating so hard.

I’ll have a proper review up in a couple of weeks.