Directed by Duncan Jones. Starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Michelle Monaghan, and Vera Farmiga.
This is a film that succeeds where many others have failed. Though it, in some regard, reminds me of at least a half dozen other movies (Vantage Point, Deja Vu, even the recent Adjustment Bureau, as well as the TV series 24), it manages to be inventive and exciting. I was not surprised to read that Duncan Jones also directed the fantastic film Moon from a few years ago... it shows the same fresh look at and deft handling of science fiction that is becoming rare as the genre merges more and more with mainstream Blockbuster filmmaking.
A key part of my review from this film is something I can't fully explain without giving the plot away too much... and that's something I would hate to do. There came a point roughly three quarters of the way through the film, as we were nearing the climax and the conclusion, where I saw two paths the remainder of the film could take. One would have left me feeling like I did about the Adjustment Bureau. It would have left me thinking the filmmakers weren't willing to commit to their own idea, willing to risk it all for a really interesting and "out there" imaginative sci-fi concept. The other, which is thankfully what ended up being the case, left me chattering with my viewing companions about "what it meant." I walked away pleased by a satisfying twist and a puzzling finale, still thinking about the possibilities it raised long after the credits rolled
Source Code wasn't a film I was intending to see -- at least not in theaters. While it seemed intriguing, it didn't hook me enough ahead of time, particularly with its release coming during school. But, I heard so much about it from others that, how could I resist? While I rarely listen to bad reviews, I definitely take recommendations -- particularly from friends -- seriously. It was nice to see a film I wasn't highly attached to, that I didn't have high hopes for, but that I was ready to be surprised by. So, down to business. Source Code is about a soldier who wakes up in someone else's body on a train that's going to explode in 8 minutes. Only, when it explodes, he doesn't die -- he wakes up, and is told to try again, try to figure out who caused the explosion. So he wakes up on the train again, and again. Of course, there's a girl, a bad guy, and a lot of twists, but it's the who of the main character and how of the main plot that are most intriguing.
As I look back on this film, the one thing I realize more and more is that I need to see it again. It's one that makes more sense once you've hit the ending, and of course you groan and say "oh, that's what they were doing earlier," and then chuckle at the ingenuity of it all. I love films like this -- those that reward an attentive audience member and multiple viewings. I love the ideas that Source Code deals with -- ones, as I've said, that have come up in many other science fiction films, but either not worked or deserved reconsidering. The past... the future: How are they connected? Can the past be changed? Is the future pre-determined? Fascinating. I love the opportunities Source Code took to be creative with the filmmaking... Like the more-or-less flop Vantage Point from a few years back, Source Code shows one scene multiple times, with variations. This is a device that is hard to do well, but is a fun one to try.
Source Code strikes a nice balance between being BIG (action-adventure, complicated idea but one that's understandable, special effects, movie star) and not too big (tightly-structured, not dominated by CGI, not too dumbed down). This is clearly not a summer Blockbuster like Inception. Though it has a similar feel, it's definitely a March release type. In all, this is a film I would recommend to catch on DVD if you, like I did, initially decided to pass on it.
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