Source Code (C+ or 2.5/4 stars)
What do you get when you blend elements from Groundhog Day, Inception, & The Matrix and inject them into a story directed by Duncan Jones (David Bowie's son)? You get 'Source Code'. Action begins with Sean (Jake Gyllenhaal) waking up on a Chicago-bound commuter train. Sitting across from him is his cute friend, Christina (Michelle Monaghan). But something isn't right. Sean is discombobulated, doesn't know Christina, & is convinced that he's not 'Sean'. Gyllenhaal's real character name is Colter Stevens, & he's supposed to be fighting in Afghanistan, not conversing with Christina on a train or getting his ticket stamped by the conductor. 8 minutes later, the train blows up, everyone dies, but Colter comes alive; finding himself locked in a seat in a steel vessel of some sort. Oh, and it's leaking hydraulic fluid. A tiny screen flickers on in front of him & a woman, Goodwin (Vera Farmiga), provides a vague debriefing.
He IS Colter Stevens, but through a futuristic virtual reality. See, he is in a "source code" and allowed to take-over the mind & body of Sean during the last 8 minutes of his life (on that commuter train). Colter re-lives the incident over & over & over again, sent back into the source code each time, & gathering clues along the way. So what's his assignment? To find the person(s) who planted the bomb on the train; because it is believed that that person(s) will subsequently detonate a dirty bomb in the middle of Chicago! In addition to this mission, Colter decides mid-mission to save Christina & find out how he could be fighting in Afghanistan AND trapped in this source code at the same time. Why IS he in both places at the same time? How could it be?
Does everything in 'Source Code' make sense? Um, no. I suspended disbelief 'til the film's final 10 min. ... then it lost me. Not only did I not care for the 'oh, how sweet' ending, but it just confounded me (SPOILER: infinite recursions in someone else's body, even after you're dead? Come on. SPOILER END). Then again, does everything make sense in Star Wars, Star Trek, The Matrix... not really. 'Source Code' offers intriguing ideas & a degree of intelligence. But like most sci-fi ideas, they don't hold up under deep inspection. Some might say, 'you'll love it if you don't think about it too hard afterwards'. Really? Because that's all I could do, & wasn't wild about its indecisive logistics. Fundamental logical flaws are one of my big pet peeves in film.
This movie is slick, flashy, sometimes humorous (thanks to Monaghan), well-scored, well-paced & involving. But if there are mind-bending flaws & preposterous leaps in logic that make little sense to me, then that's a problem. The reason I don't knock 'Source Code' as much as I could is because it IS ambitious; which is more than you can say for most garbage that comes out each week. I like how Duncan Jones varied the pace of each 8 min. time loop; each time Colter returns to the scene of the crime on the train, the different character actions/reactions are modified to be slightly different than the previous time Colter visited them. That was cool. Duncan Jones' ability to entertain us for 95 min. within a minimalist setting (similar to his great 2009 film, Moon) is impressive.
The performances are winning. Gyllenhaal, Monaghan, Farmiga, & Jeffrey Wright (as a mysterious doctor) work hard to sell this hokum. And there's heart at the center of this mystery/thriller. i.e., when Colter learns the truth about his existence, we feel it. And so, even though I loved the tense, inventive first half of the film, was engaged throughout (loved the groundhog day repetition motif), & enjoyed cinematic particulars, 'Source Code' is not as foolproof about its quantum/virtual reality mechanics as I hoped it would be. And the assumed 'emotional' ending didn't resonate because of it.
He IS Colter Stevens, but through a futuristic virtual reality. See, he is in a "source code" and allowed to take-over the mind & body of Sean during the last 8 minutes of his life (on that commuter train). Colter re-lives the incident over & over & over again, sent back into the source code each time, & gathering clues along the way. So what's his assignment? To find the person(s) who planted the bomb on the train; because it is believed that that person(s) will subsequently detonate a dirty bomb in the middle of Chicago! In addition to this mission, Colter decides mid-mission to save Christina & find out how he could be fighting in Afghanistan AND trapped in this source code at the same time. Why IS he in both places at the same time? How could it be?
Does everything in 'Source Code' make sense? Um, no. I suspended disbelief 'til the film's final 10 min. ... then it lost me. Not only did I not care for the 'oh, how sweet' ending, but it just confounded me (SPOILER: infinite recursions in someone else's body, even after you're dead? Come on. SPOILER END). Then again, does everything make sense in Star Wars, Star Trek, The Matrix... not really. 'Source Code' offers intriguing ideas & a degree of intelligence. But like most sci-fi ideas, they don't hold up under deep inspection. Some might say, 'you'll love it if you don't think about it too hard afterwards'. Really? Because that's all I could do, & wasn't wild about its indecisive logistics. Fundamental logical flaws are one of my big pet peeves in film.
This movie is slick, flashy, sometimes humorous (thanks to Monaghan), well-scored, well-paced & involving. But if there are mind-bending flaws & preposterous leaps in logic that make little sense to me, then that's a problem. The reason I don't knock 'Source Code' as much as I could is because it IS ambitious; which is more than you can say for most garbage that comes out each week. I like how Duncan Jones varied the pace of each 8 min. time loop; each time Colter returns to the scene of the crime on the train, the different character actions/reactions are modified to be slightly different than the previous time Colter visited them. That was cool. Duncan Jones' ability to entertain us for 95 min. within a minimalist setting (similar to his great 2009 film, Moon) is impressive.
The performances are winning. Gyllenhaal, Monaghan, Farmiga, & Jeffrey Wright (as a mysterious doctor) work hard to sell this hokum. And there's heart at the center of this mystery/thriller. i.e., when Colter learns the truth about his existence, we feel it. And so, even though I loved the tense, inventive first half of the film, was engaged throughout (loved the groundhog day repetition motif), & enjoyed cinematic particulars, 'Source Code' is not as foolproof about its quantum/virtual reality mechanics as I hoped it would be. And the assumed 'emotional' ending didn't resonate because of it.