Written by Alex Garland | Directed by Danny Boyle
Our nearest star, the Sun is dieing and the mankind is on the verge of becoming extinct, earth is now covered in a solar winter and the temperature is still falling. The last of the earths resources have been mined to build and launch Icuras II, mans final hope to restart the Sun. An elite crew has been formed to man it, tasked to complete the most important of all missions, to deliver the worlds last stellar bomb “equal in mass to Manhattan Island” into the heart of the Sun in the hope of reigniting its core. Years earlier Icuras I had been sent to the Sun to do the same but the crew was unable to complete their mission, contact had been lost and they had not returned!
The year is 2057 AD the crew of Icuras II has been on board for 16 months, we join them 55 million miles from earth and flying into the dead zone, finally they will be completely isolated from the earth. The plan is to reach the payload delivery point, detach from the payload and head on back home, a few minutes after the crews departure the stellar bomb fires itself into the centre of the Sun and if all goes well once the stellar bomb explodes a chain reaction will occur and a new star will be created within the dying Sun. It seems simple enough doesn’t it!
Boyle redefines our contemporary understanding of the space odyssey genre, pushing its boundaries through the spectacularisation of man being in turmoil in the depths of space; immersing the viewer in colour saturated explosive scenes of the grandest scale that engulfs the senses leaving you wanting more. Boyle for me hits this out of the park and is the by far the most visually stimulating film of his illustrious career. I recommend if there re-running this at your local cinema or IMax get yourself down there. Rating| 8.5/10