The most underrated Chris Evans movie

If you’re wondering why Sunshine is worthy of that “underrated” tag, it’s because the film retains an impressive 76% Fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes, has become a bit of a cult hit in recent years, and we’re pretty sure most of you still haven’t seen it. While it’s too late to give Sunshine the blockbuster reception it was egregiously denied upon release, there’s still time for sci-fi cineastes to lift the film beyond the level cult classic, because it’s a legit stunner worthy of mention alongside the best of the 21st Century.  

That being said, it’s not entirely fair to call Sunshine purely a Chris Evans movie. In truth, the film — directed with epic zeal by Boyle, and penned by his frequent collaborator-slash-burgeoning sci-fi auteur Alex Garland (Ex Machina, Annihilation, Devs) — is far more of an ensemble piece. As such, Evans’ character is largely relegated to secondary status among Sunshine‘s impressive cast (fronted by Boyle’s 28 Days Later star, Cillian Murphy). For those who haven’t seen it, Sunshine unfolds in a near-distant future in which the sun is burning out, threatening to doom Earth to an icy demise. As is often the case in such movies, a crack team of elite scientists and astronauts are sent into the far reaches of space to save mankind, this time by jump-starting the sun with a nuclear fission bomb.

Things, of course, do not go according to plan. As Sunshine‘s sweeping, slow-burning narrative plays out, it does so as equal parts sci-fi head trip and full-on survival thriller. It also finds the heroic mission thrown perilously off course by the sort of tragically human miscalculations rarely glimpsed in such stories. The result is a brainy, beautifully bleak sci-fi thrill ride with space-bound spectacle to burn. It also happens to feature one of Chris Evans’ finest performances to-date.  

Written by: Looper