Review: Source Code Will Bring You Back Again And Again.
- Apr 25, 2017
- 2 min read
Groundhog Day meets Die Hard in Source Code, the movie that lets you watch Jake Gyllenhaal die again and again and again. It's also really good.
Colter Stevens (Gyllenhaal) wakes up on a train opposite a woman calling him Sean. Naturally he is confused. Then the bomb goes off. Waking in some kind of pod, Stevens is introduced to Goodwin (Vera Farmiga) the operator of the Source Code. What is Source Code? It's a program that allows an individual to relive the final eight minutes of a deceased individuals life. What this means for Colter is simple, he needs to find who planted the bomb on the train and stop them before they detonate a nuclear device in Chigaco, and he only has eight minutes to do it, again, and again and again.
Director Duncan Jones, the man behind the excellent Moon and the flawed but entertaining Warcraft, creates a science fiction thriller that is enthralling in its entirety. There's no wasted space, its tightly crafted plot unfolds in two different place, gradually adding to the world and characters. It's difficult to delve deeply into the story without giving it away but if it doesn't surprise you at least once then you should probably stop while you're ahead.
Gyllenhaal, an actor who I am not the biggest fan of, gives a solid performance, rendering each eight minute stint aboard the train unique and interesting. And it really is an interesting movie, one that takes you along for the ride without telling you where you'll end up.
While not the best time travel/loop/whatever you call it movie, Source Code will keep you engrossed until the credits roll in what is one of the better sci-fi thrillers of the past decade.
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