Complete A-Z list


Sunshine

6/10

Stars: Cillian Murphy, Rose Byrne, Chris Evans, Michelle Yeoh

Director: Danny Boyle

You'll need a degree in astro-physics (or film sci-fi) to understand this one. The Sun is dying, threatening Earth with extinction. An eight-man spaceship sets off to create a new star from the old one, and give Earth back a little warmth: a previous mission has failed.

The discovery of that seven-year-old spaceship by the new one sparks a crucial decision: to go aboard the old vessel and remove its payload, theoretically doubling chances of success, or risk the entire mission in so doing?

Of course, members of the crew die one by one, and there's a mysterious ninth person on board, whose presence I can't get to first base in explaining. Impressive hardware, suspenseful action, routine and confused story (just why isn't there enough oxygen for all the crew?). Murphy and Byrne head the permanently-stressed cast. Stay wide awake and you might at least be able to follow some of it.

David Quinlan

UK 2006. UK Distributor: 20th Century Fox (Fox Searchlight). Colour by De Luxe.
107 minutes. Widescreen. UK certificate: 15.

Guidance ratings (out of 3): Sex/nudity 0, Violence/Horror 1, Drugs 0, Swearing 1.

Review date: 31 Mar 2007