Muzman on 17/10/2008 at 21:24
Meta discussion time;
There's little doubt that long haul space flights could very easily cause people to flip out, no matter what their belief system. The evidence of the stresses and effects from short haul is a pretty good indicator of that. Unfortunately all this cabin fever stuff about high stress situations is so rote in the movies and so hard to relate to for every day folks that it's becoming a hard sell.
Even if a person in the audience jumps when the zombie comes to the window in some movie, for instance, it's still nearly impossible for them to relate to the idea that they might lose all rationality and do dumb stuff in that situation. It's one of those cliches that happens to be true, so just becomes a meaningless genre trope we tick off as we watch.
Anyway, Sunshine is simultaneously a brilliant and terrible movie. The plot is kinda silly and you know what's going to happen, with seemingly random and unnecessary obstacles thrown in for excitement (which are arguably part of its 'spirituality' sub text but aren't developed all that well). But it's also totally unique looking, brilliantly realised sci-fi with damn good acting. It did what it set out to do; I cared about the characters and afterward was in total awe of the sun.
SubJeff on 17/10/2008 at 21:38
It almost made it.
But in the end... Sunshine was crap.
Sulphur on 17/10/2008 at 21:56
The homicidal religious maniac isn't completely without context, and you're not treated to much ranting and raving. But he's really just a plot element that devolves the final third of the movie into 'crew being picked off one by one by horror lurking in the shadows'.
Your mileage, of course, is going to vary on that.
I wouldn't write off the entire movie, however. It's visually sublime, as pdenton said. And everything before the last act was mostly excellent; the script's tight, and it didn't really need the antagonist at the end because it shows you that space itself can be just as bitter an enemy.
mothra on 17/10/2008 at 23:28
i think the movie doesn't even warrant any discussion, that would give it too much importance. make it shiny, make it goodlooking and indulge in meaningless banter and you get people hooked, the mass effect.
Scots Taffer on 18/10/2008 at 00:18
I've got to say that aside from it being visually sumptuous, I didn't pick up on any of this God in the Sun stuff when I first watched it in cinemas or at least, maybe I just can't remember any of it... I thought I was watching a space-drama-cum-thriller with a tendency for preponderance, and I saw the third act slasher movie turn as a great loss of atmosphere and build-up.
Thirith on 18/10/2008 at 00:55
To me, the third act works in theory: Pinbacker has realised the enormity of their task - resurrect the sun (God), save mankind. Let God die, kill mankind, be the last person alive with God. In a way, allowing God to die = killing God. Saving mankind is momentous... from the perspective of man, of that little ant-like creature crawling on the surface of the earth. Killing manking and killing God? Now that's when your actions become really momentous. It's mad, sure, but it also makes some sort of fucked-up sense. We're not talking about astronauts that may or may not screw up some obscure experiment - we're talking about a handful of people who can save or kill mankind, save or kill God.
As I said, in theory this works for me. In practice, Boyle's film becomes too much like a simple slasher movie, as many have said. Never mind what the psychological or metaphysical implications behind the slashing are - the film lets itself and its ambitions down at this point.
However, even in this bit there are beautiful moments that live up to the beginning: images such as Corazon cradling the plant, or the subtle change of light on earth. When I saw the film at the cinema, I was mainly disappointed with the last third and ticked off at Boyle. Rewatching it on DVD, I'm more able to appreciate those moments.
And mothra, for someone who thinks that the movie doesn't warrant any discussion, you're pretty verbose about it...
pdenton on 18/10/2008 at 03:53
I didn't start the tread, but since it sounds like I'm the only one who has it as of right now, let me steer it back:
I'm about 4 hours in, at chapter 5.
I've found two things:
1) There upgrades are pretty sparse and it takes a lot of them to really see any change in the weapons. Which is pretty rewarding in a strange way. Also, the ripper, with upgrades, is one of the most fun weapons to wield in any game of late.
2) On weakness is the fact that the story is unfolding as you discover things. What I mean, is that in System Shock 2, Politio informed you of some things here are there, but for the most part it was the player overhearing things, listening to audio logs, and seeing the ghosts. In DS, it's all told by your friendly NPCs, with gaps filled in with audio logs.
If you have friends like mine, who love to just take turns playing games, and devote a weeknight to a game, DS is great. The gory deaths are endlessly enjoyable, and the gameplay fun enough to watch as well as play. As far as replayability, I'd say I'd run through it two more times, just to try putting all my emphasis on leveling up certain things.
As a side note: does anybody here play COD4 on Xbox Live? :thumb:
Mr.Duck on 18/10/2008 at 09:33
Quote Posted by pdenton
As a side note: does anybody here play COD4 on Xbox Live? :thumb:
Tag: Wuigi69
Mind you, I don't play it nowadays, but I'm always up for a friendly match if I have the time :)
Hope to get DS tomorrow and Little Big Planet on sunday.
mothra on 18/10/2008 at 09:42
Quote Posted by Thirith
T
And mothra, for someone who thinks that the movie doesn't warrant any discussion, you're pretty verbose about it...
? l2c !
so still no pc review out there ?
Ostriig on 18/10/2008 at 10:54
Quote Posted by mothra
? l2c !
so still no pc review out there ?
Well, PC Zone said it had "dogshit mouse controls", so there's one. I quoted a couple of summary bullet points from their article on page 9 of this thread. As for non-journalist reviews:
Quote Posted by Wiki
Release date(s) PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360NA October 14, 2008[4]
EU October 24, 2008[4]
WindowsNA October 20, 2008[4]
EU October 24, 2008[4]
Still a few days to go.
