Taking a cue from the likes of 2001, 2010, Alien, Silent Running, and Solaris, the new movie Sunshine takes on hefty ambitions. Sadly, as strong as much of the film is, it never really gels into anything but a sub par adventure/thriller, mostly because director Danny Boyle (28 Days Later, Trainspotting) tries a little too hard to mix traditional sci-fi with the metaphysical. In Sunshine, a multi-ethnic crew travel to the far reaches of space on a secret mission. The mission; to re-ignite a dying sun and save humanity as we know it. During their lengthy journey, the crew engage in a series of dangerous tasks before coming across another space craft that was sent on a similar mission a few years earlier. After boarding the mysterious vessel, the crew come across a strange force that threatens to jeopardize their entire mission.

Sunshine is more of a provocative sci-fi film than an all out action fest, and for much of it's running time, it proves to be surprisingly interesting even though it's essentially a fusion of several other familiar films. Boyle does manage to create a sense of isolation and technically, the movie offers up some truly breathtaking imagery. Unfortunately, the final act of the film treads on Event Horizon territory as a strange intruder wreaks havoc amongst our heroic but flawed crew. Ultimately, Sunshine is tripped up by strange, spiritual undertones and a misguided climax, and the muddled, incoherent fashion in which Boyle shoots the final moments, doesn't exactly help matters. Not a bad film, but I certainly hoped for more.