Sunshine

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Year:	2007
Country of origin:	UK / USA
Director:	Danny Boyle
Genre:	Sci-fi / horror / trip-out
Starring:	Cliff Curtis, Chipo Chung, Cillian Murphy, Michelle Yeoh
Rating:	4/5
IMDB link:	http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0448134/
Tagline:	If the sun dies, so do we.
Favourite line:	"For seven years I spoke with God. He told me to take us all to Heaven."

It's quite refreshing to see a straight up sci-fi movie, and this movie is surely that, at least for the first three quarters of its running time.

Fifty years from now, the sun which gives us life is dying.
A manned mission, Icarus, is sent towards the star in a bid to reignite it, but vanishes without trace, mission failed.
Seven years later, a second team is sent, Icarus II, their mission identical, but on the way they will encounter difficulties, both internally from within their ranks, and externally, when the original Icarus craft is located.

A yarn set in deep space, if well written, is sure to deal with ideas of isolation and claustrophobia, and this certainly gives it a go, with Danny Boyle's tight and taut direction adding layers that may otherwise have been undetected.
The ensemble cast is excellent, some unknowns, mainly little knowns, and the special effects sequences are dazzling and effectively handled.
This is a schizophrenic beast, though, the writer pitching a serious curve ball once the Icarus II team arrive at the original missions vessel, and things go downhill a little from then on in. Whilst we can handle the concept of interplanetary flight in such a near future, just about, the moment a riven, almost zombified / rotten survivor starts offing the crew is slightly distracting, and doesn't seem at all in keeping with what has gone before.
Oh, and the last ten minutes made no sense to me at all, but perhaps I was simply being dumb.
It's flawed, then, but it's still pretty riveting throughout, with a good sense of atmosphere and a decent script.
Liked it.