Sunshine: Danny Boyle’s space slasher plays out like an atheist’s worst nightmare

‘Perhaps those sun-deifying ancient civilisations were right all along’ … Cliff Curtis in Sunshine Photograph: Moviestore Collection Ltd/Alamy

If you enjoyed Project Hail Mary but couldn’t quite stomach its sickly sweet message of intergalactic companionship and the indomitable human spirit, then there’s a movie from 2007 that might be right up your alley: Danny Boyle’s Sunshine, which today plays like Project Hail Mary’s older, emo cousin.

The setup of both films is essentially the same: in the near future our sun is dying, threatening all life on Earth and prompting an emergency space voyage by a team of plucky geeks. But while one film came from the folks who made The Lego Movie, the other is by the blokes who made 28 Days Later.