Sunshine is my Apollo 13

Sunshine Poster ThumbnailSunshine is a science fiction film that takes on a plot similar in theme, only far into the future (I hope), to Apolo 13. The premise of the movie is that the world is in an extended winter resulting from the gradual death of the sun. We (humans) sent a team of scientists to the sun to restart it, but it failed. Sunshine follows the second team sent up with the same mission as the first. Maybe it isn’t that similar to Apollo 13, but I figure that the two are some of the best space movies that I’ve ever seen, so they fall into the same categories for better or worse.

All of the basics are covered here. You have your scientists clandestine to save the world, but their predecessors already screwed up. You have group conflicts due to personality problems, decisions that are made, and the necessary sacrifice of people to save oxygen. On top of that, there’s a whole spiritual/insanity/abstraction aspect thrown in for size.

This really is one of the best movies that I have seen this year. It’s captivating from the get go and there are twists in the plot the entire way through. Unlike most movies, it doesn’t really have a decidedly positive or negative ending; your interpretation of the ending completely depends on how you felt towards certain characters and other events in the movie.

For those who care, this movie has the label of being an indie film (Fox Searchlight). That being said, the CG in Sunshine is far too complex for the movie to have had a small budget. It has its fair share of famous actors (Cillian Murphy, anyone?), but the budget for this movie couldn’t have been that small. Either way, it was amazing. It had the abstractions that fit in an indie film, but the major studio production value. Quite amazing.

4 thoughts on “Sunshine is my Apollo 13

  1. I resent that title. “Sunshine” is a tale populated by immature borderline idiots who possess neither intelligence, discipline, nor the least regard for the chain of command. To compare Alex Garland’s snarky, moronic creations with the brave, resourceful people who brought Apollo 13 safely home is almost grotesquely insulting. Had snide dimwit Garland been in charge of “scripting” that Apollo mission, it would have ended in tragedy. The crew of the Icarus II succeed quite by accident; they blunder into their roles as world-savers. A far more fitting analogy would liken them to the Three Stooges. Only with plenty of contrived, unnecessary death tossed in for good measure– ’cause li’l Alex thinks that death equals high drama.

  2. I resent that title. “Sunshine” is a tale populated by immature borderline idiots who possess neither intelligence, discipline, nor the least regard for the chain of command. To compare Alex Garland’s snarky, moronic creations with the brave, resourceful people who brought Apollo 13 safely home is almost grotesquely insulting. Had snide dimwit Garland been in charge of “scripting” that Apollo mission, it would have ended in tragedy. The crew of the Icarus II succeed quite by accident; they blunder into their roles as world-savers. A far more fitting analogy would liken them to the Three Stooges. Only with plenty of contrived, unnecessary death tossed in for good measure– ’cause li’l Alex thinks that death equals high drama.

  3. Doug, your resentment of the title would be fitting if you resented its comparison of two movies. Instead, you compare the actual events of Apollo 13 to the movie of Sunshine.

    “To compare Alex Garland’s snarky, moronic creations with the brave, resourceful people who brought Apollo 13 safely home is almost grotesquely insulting.”

    I don’t believe that I ever compared Garland’s writing style with the way that James Lovell, John Swigert, and Fred Haise piloted Apollo 13. If you are arguing that Tom Hanks, Bill Paxton, and Kevin Bacon were the actual pilots of the mission, then your point might apply. But alas, those are actors not astronauts.

    I also disagree with your argument that the events that lead to the final scene happen by accident. Each of the characters have very human qualities about them. If you consider that blundering about, then so be it.

    And the Three Stooges? This further discredits your argument.

    If you have any serious arguments against the film, please continue the discussion.

  4. Doug, your resentment of the title would be fitting if you resented its comparison of two movies. Instead, you compare the actual events of Apollo 13 to the movie of Sunshine.

    “To compare Alex Garland’s snarky, moronic creations with the brave, resourceful people who brought Apollo 13 safely home is almost grotesquely insulting.”

    I don’t believe that I ever compared Garland’s writing style with the way that James Lovell, John Swigert, and Fred Haise piloted Apollo 13. If you are arguing that Tom Hanks, Bill Paxton, and Kevin Bacon were the actual pilots of the mission, then your point might apply. But alas, those are actors not astronauts.

    I also disagree with your argument that the events that lead to the final scene happen by accident. Each of the characters have very human qualities about them. If you consider that blundering about, then so be it.

    And the Three Stooges? This further discredits your argument.

    If you have any serious arguments against the film, please continue the discussion.

Leave a Reply to Nik Gomez Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *