Source Code

With the similarity of “Source Code” to “Vantage Point” I was not excited to see it. “Vantage Point” was pretty much the same short story over and over again and quickly became annoying. “Source Code” on the other hand didn’t overdo the same basic story but instead kept the story moving by changing the stakes at every relapse.

From the director of  “Moon”, Duncan Jones delivers another action-packed adventure that never lets up. Jake Gyllenhaal plays Colter Stevens, a man who is somehow placed in a train right before it explodes by a top-secret government agency. They are able to plug his mind into anther person’s body and therefore go back into that person’s last minutes of life and try to stop the bomb from exploding on the train. Things get complicated though when he starts to fall in love with a woman on the train and his mission becomes more than to find the bomber.

In the beginning of this movie the laws of the world were set. Like in all movies, we are asked to believe the world we are presented. In “Toy Story” we believe that toys have life, in “Avatar” we believe that someone can be plugged into an alien body. In “Source Code” we are presented with a new world where we can safely assume that someone can be transported into the mind of someone who just died, take over their body to try and figure out what causes their end. It is a complicated story so far as the new world goes and how they try to explain the physics, but it isn’t too farfetched. The only problem is that when a movie presents new rules into the world, they must stick to it throughout the entire movie. In the end “Source Code” changed their own rules and didn’t stay within the boundaries that they had us all believing in. Sure it made for a happier and more romantic ending, but it just didn’t fit the rest of the movie.

Even though the science of the movie sometimes got confusing, it was just simple enough to be believable and make the movie exciting. Every time Colter Stevens was put back into the train after the bomb exploded, he moved further and further towards figuring out who planted the bomb. While in this reality, he is trying to figure out how to get out of this secret agency that is holding him in this mission until he completes his mission. At the same time he tries to figure out a way where he can save the people from the past from dying. The problem with his mindset (as explained by the physics of the movie) is that the people on the train have technically already died. This complicated story is under pressure from start to finish but keeps it moving by solving all the layers at the same time.  

I was constantly trying to find clues and unravel the multiple layers of the mystery along with Stevens. It was almost as if we were solving the crisis together. Gyllenhaal was a perfect choice for this role. We were completely under his spell and fighting for him to solve the layers of riddles his life has become.

“Source Code” was a very original and exciting ride that kept me thoroughly entertained, but they went back on their own rules, which was confusing and unnecessary. This is would be a good way to kick off the summer of movie blockbusters. I was constantly diving deeper into the story and trying to guess how the story would end. There are so many possible outcomes it is almost impossible to predict even the next ten minutes. With magnificent special effects and sound design, it would be a great movie to go see with a group of friends on the big screen.

Final Grade: B+