Lost in Space: Sunshine

Sunshine
Directed by Danny Boyle
Released July 20, 2007

I was so excited about this science fiction film about a crew of astronauts and scientists on a mission to re-ignite the dying sun. I was disappointed from the get-go. There is extremely little exposition and background about the characters. This kind of set-up, with the lack of a villain other than nature, could work if the characters were even slightly developed and any kind of compelling relationships between them were formed. Cillian Murphy, an emerging actor usually cast in creepy roles like in "Batman Begins" and "Red Eye", leads a cast that might be able to do a great job creating complex characters but which ultimately fails in that mission. Rose Byrne ("Damages") and Cliff Curtis ("Live Free or Die Hard") do their very best as well, but this is a case of three talented, on-the-rise actors caught in unfortunate roles with meager writing to help them out. The film itself treads along very slowly, and the latter half of the film makes little if any sense. Barring one major "oh, ****!" moment, the film lacks energy and drama.

C-