It's fifty years in the future and the sun is on its way out. In a last ditch effort, mankind has sent off a team of astronauts strapped to a bomb the size of Manhattan, to 'restart the sun'.

It sounds like the plot from another ridiculous Hollywood disaster turd. But this isn't Hollywood. It's Danny Boyle (director of Shallow Grave, Trainspotting) and Alex Garland (author of The Beach), whose last collaboration brought us 28 Days Later, a grotty horror that made zombies sprint and showed London as a deserted mess. With Sunshine they've been handed a bigger budget, but it's thankfully the same talent in the driving seat.

So we still have an abundance of effects, but stuff like a decent story, believable characters and well crafted tension haven't been forgotten. There's no inappropriate romance, no paint-by-numbers characters and nobody has a quirky dog. Instead it's intimate, disturbing and claustrophobic as hell. Proper old-school sci-fi in space. Things get broken so people have to go out and fix them. People go a bit crazy. Situations become utterly hopeless. It's all good fun.

Boyle's direction adds a definite edge, and the cast are varied enough without going into stereotype mode. Cillian Murphy, who also ran lots in 28 Days Later, is quietly excellent, making you root for him by emoting through weirdly large blue eyes.

Rose Byrne (Troy) is a bit moody, Chris Evans (Fantastic Four) is surprisingly angry as the sort of jock, and Michelle Yeoh (Crouching Tiger) is a passionate plant, er, woman. Throw in a psycho psychiatrist, a couple of wimp types and a strong but silent captain, then add horrifically dangerous situations. What you end up with is finger-wringing tension.

Amongst all the scary space-horror is also the chance to consider how utterly helpless humans are, more environmental woe and a bit of religious stuff to boot. It does get a little garbled towards the end, and at times sticks so closely to the rules of a space-sci-fi thriller (a la Alien, Event Horizon, etc.) that it becomes slightly predictable. But it laughs in the face of Hollywood and stirs up enough 'urgh' to leave a lasting impression in your gut that does take a while to subside. A smart thriller - don your sunglasses and go take a peek.