Sunshine (2007)

Director Danny Boyle boldly ventures into the darkest reaches of science fiction with this thoughtful 2007 thriller. Recalling genre classics such as Solaris and 2001: A Space Odyssey, this is an action flick with a difference. Cillian Murphy's withdrawn physicist heads up an international cast, gung-ho heroics are out, and logic and scientific probability drive the plot forward.

The Icarus II is on a lengthy mission to deliver a nuclear payload into the heart of the sun, reigniting the dying star and saving the world from a slow wintry death. Seven years previously, another team had been sent on the same mission, aboard the Icarus I, but vanished in space. As they near their goal, the crew of Icarus II receive a signal from their long-lost sister ship, and must choose whether to press on with their mission or go in search of survivors. Their decision could mean doubling their chances of success, or dooming all life on Earth...