I have never seen a 'mission-in-outer-space' story told quite like this before. The special- and visual-effects were impressive, but it's how the crew of eight related to one another -- the human relationships -- that made this film palpable for me. Though I must say their interactions with the ship's ultra-intelligent computer, Icarus (voiced by Chipo Chung), were interesting.
Having seen Chris Evans (Mace, the engineer) in the first and second "Fantastic Four" films -- which didn't require much of him as an actor, in terms of emotional range; nuance; and subtlety -- before I watched "Sunshine", I didn't think much of him as an actor. I was convinced he lacked emotional range, that he couldn't embody a 'serious' character and elicit an emotional reaction from the viewer. But I was wrong. Chris Evans can act. His stirling turn as Mace was, for me, the highlight of the film. Wow.
Before "Sunshine", I had never seen delectable action star Michelle Yeoh -- whom I and most other people know from "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon", "Police Story 3: Super Cop", as a Bond girl in "Tomorrow Never Dies", and so on -- in a film where instead of kicking, punching, leaping and slicing her way from one scene to the next, she had to rely solely on her dramatic acting skills. In "Sunshine" she plays biologist Corazon, and she does it beautifully, without having delivered a single strike to anyone's body.
Cliff Curtis (Searle, the doctor and psychological officer) is one of the best character actors working today. Curtis' Searle is charismatic, adept at selling an idea and making himself heard. Searle commands one's attention when he speaks. My first brush with Curtis was in 1999's "Three Kings", in which he played one of thousands of Iraqis rising up against Saddam's tyranny. He impressed me then and I have no qualms with his performance here.
My first encounter with Hiroyuki Sanada (Kaneda, the captain) was in the epic "The Last Samurai", where he quite beautifully played a Samurai named Ujio -- silent, dedicated, honourable and a warrior par excellence. Sanada's Kaneda seems to be averse to speaking, yet because he has a certain mystery and strong presence, he is able to command the respect of his crew.
Rose Byrne (Cassie, the pilot), I had seen before in a film/TV series whose name I cannot recall. Byrne has some of the most expressive eyes I have ever seen on screen. This, coupled with her soft, delicate features makes her a pleasure to watch as Cassie. Laying eyes on her... eyes, you can't help but be drawn in. Cassie has an emotional and physical, fragility and vulnerability that play havoc with your nerves as you watch her struggle to evade mortal danger, because she's kind of like an egg that you don't want to see shattered.
Cillian Murphy, Benedict Wong, Troy Garity and Mark Strong do an adequate job as Capa the physicist, Trey the navigator, Harvey the communications officer and Pinbacker the insane stowaway captain of Icarus I, respectively.
"Sunshine" is definitely worth a look.
