Sunshine

I have not seen many of the big summer movies this year, probably due to the number of films I saw at the Seattle Film Festival. Most of what I have seen have been small or indie movies. (I'm not going to admit I actually saw Shrek 3.)

Which brings me to Sunshine, from director Danny Boyle (Trainspotting, 28 Days Later). It looks like a big budget summer movie (the special effects are top-notch) but feels like a much smaller, indie film.

What's it about? Think Alien crossed with Deep Impact with The Core thrown in for good measure. A team of astronauts must seed the sun with a huge bomb in order to ... well, save the sun. It's going out. (Remember the "Twilight Zone" episode?)

The ensemble cast led by Cillian Murphy (Batman Begins, Red Eye) is Earth's second try, and they run into the foreseeable challenges after discovering the remains of the previous, failed mission on the dark side of Mercury. Yep, people will start to die, one by one. But will the mission succeed?

The movie looks great, and the dramatic arc of the story is solid. Cast is good, direction is good, yet I remain strangely unmoved and neutral about the whole thing. I never connected emotionally, but that's not always a prerequisite to enjoying a film. A day later, I still don't know how I feel about it, though I have to say it's not a bad film.

Do I recommend it? Yes, ultimately I have to say if you are into this sort of thing, you may get something out of it. But if your speed is more along the lines of Evening, then stay away.