Source Code (2011)

Source Code













7/10

Starring
Jake Gyllenhaal
Michelle Monaghan
Vera Farmiga
Jeffrey Wright


Directed by Duncan Jones

In an ongoing train a man wakes up to see a woman talking to him who apparently knows who he is and he not knowing who she is.

Captain Colter Stevens (Jake Gyllenhaal) is a decorated pilot who awakens in a body in a train, and has 8 minutes to find the bomber of the train out of the hundred passengers on board.

Captain Colter is part of a government experiment that allows him to cross over into another man’s body for his (i.e. the man's) last 8 minutes.

The movie is a Sci-Fi Groundhog Day, with an opening that keeps you in suspense of what’s going on, or what’s going to happen. Set on a plot about a man trying to find out who blew up a train so (which had happened a while back) as to stop an even greater threat. 

Saying Jake Gyllenhaal didn’t deliver is an understatement. His ability to capture the role of the character is enough to keep you watching. The plot of the movie, gives you a sense of suspense, as you go through the train explosion with the character 8 minutes at a time, trying to unravel how what has been done was done.

A storyline like this is what keeps you watching, with time not wasted on meaningless dialogue the movie goes straight to the point in the first 5 minutes.

The involvement of a female interest by Duncan Jones, creating a form of intimacy between the captain and the woman who always welcomes him with a smile, Christina Warren (Michelle Monaghan) makes the movie personal.

The truth here is, developing a love interest for someone you know is dead is a little farfetched, but it all adds to the emotional thrill of the movie, so you are not just overwhelmed by intense action scenes. Source Code gets a lot done in a short time, with a masterful screenplay. The science maybe bogus but the delivery is grounded. After every 8 minute journey he returns back to reality where a sympathetic Colleen Goodwin (Vera Farmiga), an officer conducting the experiment, helps to piece the captain’s Journey from shaky facts to human reality, with the aim of getting enough facts to stop the bombing of another train.

The thrill of the movie is not in the action packed 90 minutes, but the confusion of the Lead character, who is finding it hard to keep a hold on reality and memory lapses, causes him to first drift off when he returns after an 8 minute trip. Is like watching him trying to unravel two mysteries of what is going on now and what was going on 8 minutes ago.

The twist in the movie about the lead character is something you will love, and happy endings cannot be overdone.

All in all Source Code is a good movie something you and the family will enjoy.