SUNSHINE [R]

How does that famous movie tag line go again? “In space, no one can hear you let out a disappointed sigh when the third act of an otherwise great science fiction film plays out in an embarrassingly trite manner?” Or something like that.

First off, let us define “science fiction.” Sorry to say, Jed-Heads, that the Holy Trilogy you have been worshiping since Star Wars dazzled your young imagination in 1977 is not science fiction, at least according the the purists (it is fantasy that takes place a long time ago). Sci-fi is speculative fiction based on current technology and trends, in which case, 28 Days Later creator Danny Boyle’s latest qualifies. In the film, which is set 50 years in the future, the crew of the deep space vessel Icarus II must deliver an explosive payload to our dying sun to re-ignite it (take that, Al Gore). Naturally, unfortunate obstacles challenge the crew and threaten the mission. This grand suspension of disbelief is where Boyle succeeds wildly.

The set-up and the build are masterful. Boyle gets us to believe everything, even if we don’t fully understand the mechanics of it (it is slightly more complicated than bringing a giant set of jumper cables). The production design by Mark Tildesley (Code 46) is gorgeous and completely natural, and Boyle’s cast is superb, from slightly creepy pretty boy Cillian Murphy (Red Eye) as the ship’s pragmatic physicist (and Earth’s biggest hope) to Malaysian beauty Michelle Yeoh (Memoirs of a Geisha) as its overemotional botanist. Swarthy Kiwi Cliff Curtis (Live Free Or Die Hard) is great as the muscle, but it is Sudbury’s own Chris Evans who really stands out. Unlike movies like Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, in which he just wears a costume and recites lines, he shows off his chops again, like he did in the addiction drama London. Characters prove their mettle through action, and Evans gets to prove the most here. Actually, it is through the crew of Icarus II that Boyle and frequent collaborator Alex Garland add so much believable detail and prove themselves. Everybody on the ship does something essential to the long journey, and we can easily see how they live, interact and conflict.

Then comes the climactic third act, where things go badly for the crew…and for us. This is where Boyle stumbles, with a polar shift in tone that betrays all the hard work he has done until then. The smart and meticulously crafted scenario he spun becomes half forgotten amid the noise and haste when the action devolves into a grating Shining in space no better than the clunky Event Horizon. Anyone who saw the first Star Trek movie (or even the wan Lost In Space) knows generally what kind of Citizen Kane-like irony awaits the crew when they finally find the presumably lost Icarus I.

Still, it is not a total loss. If Boyle continues exploring the “what if” in movies like this and 28 Days Later, he will find that balance between character, story and technology to make the kind of science fiction movie that converts the dismissive viewer who lumps all sci-fi in with laser guns, giant robots and big-heads in shiny suits.•••

Sunshine opens on July 27th. Read our interview with director Danny Boyle in next week’s issue.