Forget Interstellar: Cillian Murphy’s Underrated Sunshine Is a One-Night Must-Watch
A mission to reignite the sun
Murphy plays Robert Capa, one of eight astronauts aboard Icarus II. Their task is to deliver a bomb to the sun and try to restart it, as Earth faces a frigid and bitter end.
The mission follows the failure of Icarus I, which disappeared seven years earlier. During the journey, the crew receives a transmission from the earlier spacecraft and changes course to investigate it.
A choice with grave consequences
The detour triggers a series of events that sends Icarus II toward disaster. The crew must face difficult choices, with no easy route out of the crisis. Rather than offering a simple story of heroism saving the day, Sunshine presents people shaped by their circumstances. Its characters are nuanced, complex and sometimes hardened by the world they inhabit.
Emotion at the heart of science fiction
Boyle directed the film, with Alex Garland as his writing partner. The cast also includes Chris Evans, Rose Byrne, Hiroyuki Sanada and Michelle Yeoh. Sunshine centers on life, death and self-sacrifice. Its story uses a familiar space-mission premise to explore the emotional cost of trying to save humanity.
Key points
- Cillian Murphy stars as Robert Capa, one of eight Icarus II astronauts.
- The crew aims to deliver a bomb to the sun and reignite it.
- A transmission from the failed Icarus I prompts a dangerous change of course.
- Sunshine pairs a space-bound crisis with themes of life, death and self-sacrifice.