There is something refreshing in the decidedly downbeat "Europa Report," a science-fiction film with the emphasis on science that doesn't cheat on the tension.

Low key and earnest, Sebastin Cordero's "Europa Report" makes compelling use of familiar genre material to create an intelligent science fiction thriller.

There are scenes of unutterable beauty in Europa Report, a low-budget space exploration sci-fi suspenser from Ecuadorian director Sebastin Cordero.

While it gets a little cheesy and more sic-fi toward the end, it's still fun and dramatic...