review: SUNSHINE (Blu-ray)

Fox  //  Buy from Amazon.com Danny Boyle has excelled in nearly every genre he's touched from the family film (MILLIONS) to the zombie movie (28 DAYS LATER) to the drug-fuelled drama (TRAINSPOTTING). With SUNSHINE, he brings his style and verve to the futuristic world of science fiction to great success. In a mere five decades in the future, the sun is dying, and Earth is running out of time. After the failure of a previous mission, it's up to the crew of the Icarus II to reignite the star with a stellar bomb. But the crew faces more than just the blistering heat of the sun and the freezing cold of space as they grapple with the limits of the human mind and heart. I have to admit that I was caught off-guard by just how damned good "Sunshine" was - the film seemed to fizzle out at the box office, really didn't garner too many (positive) reviews, and seemed D.O.A. Imagine my surprise, then, to sit down and watch the film and end up totally mesmerized (I word I'll likely use often in this review, since it's so appropriate) by the incredible visuals, slow-burning story building and interesting assemblage of characters. I don't know what today's moviegoers or reviewers are watching instead of films like "Sunshine," but whatever it is, they're missing out and/or are on glue, because this film is a marvelous example of modern-day filmmaking (not a movie, but a film.) The plot is pretty straightforward and set up right at the beginning - the sun is burning out, time to go deliver a big bomb to "restart" it. Good enough. Now we get into the film. For the first half, you'll be hypnotized by the brightly captivating visuals - try to look away during that first viewing room scene with the sun (I bet you can't do it) - and by the second half, you will be so tranfixed with the visuals and mysteriously-unfolding story that you won't even be blinking anymore. Rarely do I enjoy films this much anymore, and especially not a film that completely slipped under my radar (or at least my expectations), but "Sunshine" is a great movie, and Blu-ray is the only way to view it. Video The 1080p high definition transfer of the film included on this magical Blu-ray disc is unbelievable (I was going to say "out of this world" but then I'd have to add "pun intended" and then there's no way to easily denote the "ba-dum-dum" drumbeat after someone cracks a joke... but I digress...) The visuals are really one of the stars of this film, as the truly mesmerizing special effects and, in particular, the vivid shots of the sun are absolutely hypnotic and gorgeous to behold. Truly amazing. Audio The included DTS HD audio stream is also fantastic - while much more subtle than the visuals, the soundscape is totally immersive, transporting you to the furthest reaches of space and slowly building into a powerful closing score that had me seeking out the soundtrack online while the final credits were still rolling. Extras 2 audio commentaries: director Danny Boyle; technical advisor Dr. Brian Cox deleted scenes production diaries collection of short films "A Brilliant Vision" picture-in-picture "Journey Into Sound" trailers Closing Thoughts Mesmerizing film that will overwhelm your senses + great assortment of extras = fantastic, gorgeous film - highly recommended