Source Code

"Promise me you'll help him. And when you do, do me a favor: tell him everything is gonna be okay."


I have been a fan of Jake Gyllenhal since my friend sat me down to watch Donnie Darko. He has always been good at playing the one note character. In the past while he has taken on roles that showed his depth as an actor. That's right I'm talking about Bubble Boy.

On a more serious note this was a fantastic film. I had heard good things about the movie. When critics like it most people will not which left me a bit hesitant. The movie was less than two hours which is a treat in and of it's self. It was also nice that there was little to no down time in the action of this film. The opening scene starts with explosions and you get then throughout the whole movie. No I'm not talking about the Michael Bay slow motion Transformers explosions, but good ones.

Source code is about Captain Colter Stevens who is placed in the body of a stranger named Sean who was on a Chicago bound train that explodes. He is sent back to the same 8 minute time frame to find where the bomb is and who it was that placed it there. if he fails he starts over. It was a lot of the same scenario with very different outcomes. It did not get old at all like Vantage Point does, but rather you look forward to each trip to see what he will find out. This movie was over quick, but did not lack anything. There was not much fluff in the story just him taking care of business and trying to find out who he really is and why he is not flying a helicopter in Afghanistan.

He is helped/hindered on the train by a lady friend played by Michelle Monaghan (Eagle Eye/Maid of Honor.)She plays a friend, Christine, who rides the train with Sean each day. Vera Farmiga plays Goodwin, a military officer who is guiding our here on his lofty quest. She plays her part very well. You can she her emotion for this project through here eyes. It is amazing how much Jake's and Vera's characters can say just by the look in their eyes and lack of expression.

I think the director, Duncan Jones, has a thing for the lead character learning that they are not what/who they think they are (see 2009's Moon.) This was probably the best movie I've seen thus far this year. The message is a great one. The question placed by Captain Stevens to Christine sums up the message they were trying to get across:

"What would you do if you knew you only had one minute to live?"
"I would make every second count."

8.75 out of 10