On its surface, “Source Code” looks like a cheap action-thriller that owes its inspiration to the “Die Hard” and “Speed” franchises. In reality, the movie is a well-thought-out, nicely paced movie that is relatively simple but doesn’t disappoint.
The film is about Air Force Cpt. Colter Stevens (Jake Gyllenhaal), who is part of Source Code, a government program that allows him to cross into another man’s body for eight minutes to figure out who bombed a commuter train in Chicago. The film is in the same format as the cult comedy “Groundhog Day,” as Stevens must repeat the same point and history over and over again.
But instead of humorous situations, Stevens faces the serious task of saving millions of people.
The film opens in a confusing sequence that leaves the viewer with as much information as Stevens. Waking up on a train with a woman named Christina (Michelle Monaghan) who keeps referring to him as Sean, Stevens stumbles around the train, eventually making his way into a bathroom where he sees a reflection of a man in a mirror that isn’t him. Moments later, the train blows up.
Stevens then awakes in a bizarre module. A woman named Colleen (Vera Farmiga), who looks like a government official, is on a screen spouting loads of information Stevens doesn’t seem to understand. Stevens is convinced he was just in Afghanistan with his unit flying helicopters. Colleen assures him that he’s been with the government operation Source Code for two months. Stevens is given information saying the bomb on the train is simply a warning of a much larger bomb that threatens to destroy the entire city of Chicago.
From there, two important questions loom for the viewer: Who is the bomber and what is the real story behind Cpt. Colter Stevens?
The rest of the movie’s 93 minute length is spent figuring out the answer to both of these questions.
Directed by Duncan Jones, an English film director and son of rock star David Bowie, “Source Code” is nicely paced, never overwhelming the viewer with too much information, but consistently keeping the story interesting.
Like “Moon,” Jones’ breakthrough independent film starring Sam Rockwell, “Source Code” is surprisingly simple.
Jones successfully navigates the thrilling story written by screenwriter Ben Ripley so that it takes place in only three locations. The smaller scale gives the viewer a much more personal connection with Stevens as he tries to stop the bomber and solve his own mystery. It also makes the emerging love story between himself and Christina more believable, instead of something thrown together to make viewers happy.
Jones also does a good job of creating a few beautiful images to assist the movie’s theme: the limited amount of time all of us have to live.
More than once, Stevens poses the question “What would you do if you only had under a minute to live?”
The only time “Source Code” really falters is in a inexplicable jump near the end, designed to theoretically round out the story. But at this point in the movie, such a mistake is forgivable as the characters and plot are engrossing enough.
All in all, “Source Code” is a great film that is worth watching more than once.
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