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Tuesday, August 14, 2007

Top Ten Problems with the Movie Sunshine. . .

Ok, I know when the premise of your movie is flying a bomb the size of Manhattan into a dying sun you have something on your agenda other than scientific and logical plausibility. However, a film that's largely a homage to 2001:A Space Odyssey should at least give the impression it tried. I get the feeling, though, that the "research" on this film involved a lot of DVD rentals. Here are my top ten problems with it. WARNING: Possible spoilers.

10. That bomb is really dense if it's the mass of Manhattan Island. It looks about the size of the Astrodome.
9. Then, again, it may be since it seems to have its own gravity at the ending sequence. But then how come it's a cube?
8. Why the hell is the only rotating part of your spaceship the communications array?
7. Why are there no backup computers on either ship?
6. The amazing plot-driven gravity drive! (The crew compartments don't rotate, so they must be under constant acceleration but there's all those long corridors, then they go into orbit. Then when they pressurize the airlock everyone stops being weightless. . .)
5. If the comm array was going to (literally) fry when it got hit with direct sunlight at this distance, it was going to fry anyway once the bomb separated, the Icarus II itself has a much smaller shield than the bomb. The comm boom sweeps beyond it. (why is it rotating again?)
4. The Icarus II's transmission gear is less effective than 20th Century unmanned space probes, losing all contact with Earth before it reaches Mercury.
3. Let's send the Capitan and the only guy who can operate the bomb on a potentially life-threatening EVA repair mission.
2. Hell that went so well, let's do it again with our new Capitan!

And the number one problem with the movie Sunshine. . .

1. You've towed the mass of Manhattan Island 93 million miles. And you're going to do last minute course changes and put it into a temporary parking orbit? With what reaction mass? How in the hell are you going to get it moving again?

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