Movie Review: Source Code

Friday, April 22, 2011
Synopsis: When decorated soldier Captain Colter Stevens wakes up in the body of an unknown man, he discovers he's part of a mission to find the bomber of a Chicago commuter train. In an assignment unlike any he's ever known, he learns he's part of a government experiment called the "Source Code," a program that enables him to cross over into another man's identity in the last 8 minutes of his life. With a second, much larger target threatening to kill millions in downtown Chicago, Colter re-lives the incident over and over again, gathering clues each time, until he can solve the mystery of who is behind the bombs and prevent the next attack.
Starring: Jake Gyllenhaal, Michelle Monaghan, Vera Farmiga, Jeffrey Wright, Michael Arden
Directed by: Duncan Jones
U.S. Rating: PG-13

Source Code was one of the first expected Sci-Fi films of the year in my "must-see" list. To honor the film, I must say it was entertaining, the plot was different (well, sort of) and the cast was magnific.

What is the film about? Well, Captain Colter Stevens (Jake Gyllenhaal) is a decorated army helicopter pilot who finds himself in a mission to locate the author of a bomb which exploded and destroyed a train headed into Chicago. Stevens is isolated inside a chamber, where Air Force officer Capt. Colleen Goodwin (Vera Farmiga) explains to Stevens through a computer screen that he is inside the Source Code, a program that allows him to take over someone's body in his or her last eight minutes of life.

Stevens' mission is to locate the bomb, discover who built it, and report back to Goodwin before the bomber can detonate a second larger bomb, a dirty nuclear device, in downtown Chicago, which could cause the deaths of millions of people. Stevens can perform different actions each time and learn from those actions. Goodwin and the Source Code's creator, Dr. Rutledge (Jeffrey Wright), tell him that the Source Code is not a simulation, but a visit into the past in the form of an alternative reality. He's told that he cannot truly alter the past in the same reality to save Christina or any of the other passengers, but that he must gather intel that can be used to alter the future and prevent a future attack.

Every time he is sent into the train he awakens as Sean Fentress, a teacher, sitting across a woman named Christina Warren (Michelle Monaghan). A series of events repeat each time with slight variations while he goes on searching for the terrorist and deepening his relationship with Christina, until the bomb that destroys the train goes off and Stevens (as Fentress) dies, sending him back to the chamber.

Stevens has no memory of how he arrived to the mission; his last memory is of flying in a recent mission in Afghanistan while taking on enemy gunfire. Confused and frustrated, Stevens wonders how he got assigned to this project. Using a cellphone, he eventually discovers that he supposedly died in the war two months ago and that his severely injured body was apparently appropriated by the Air Force and used by Rutledge to enter the Source Code.

Stevens is sent back several more times. The second time he locates the bomb in the ventilation shaft above the bathroom. Each time he learns more, both about the terrorist attack and his real life personal situation, even though Rutledge and Goodwin constantly direct him to focus on finding the bomber. Stevens resolves to complete his mission, now with the added personal goal of saving Christina and the people on the train if at all possible.

He eventually discovers that the bomber is an American extremist named Derek Frost (Michael Arden). Stevens pursues Frost to a white van where the radioactive bomb is hidden. Stevens is eventually shot dead in the confrontation, but still able to gather enough information about Frost to inform Rutledge and Goodwin after he awakes from the source-code. Authorities are able to apprehend Frost and save Chicago before the second bomb is detonated.

With the mission accomplished, Rutledge orders Stevens' memory wiped/erased and stored for reuse in further missions. But Stevens persuades Goodwin to send him in one more time and give him one last chance to avert the train disaster. Goodwin agrees that he deserves to be allowed to die in peace afterwards instead of being held alive as a military artifact.

With the information he has uncovered from previous sorties, Stevens is able to defuse the bomb and capture Frost before he can destroy the train. Frost is arrested by the police and the people on the train are saved. Stevens and Christina kiss in the last seconds before the plug is to be pulled at the eight-minute mark. In that instant, Goodwin turns off his life support per his request, but to his surprise, his mind remains in Sean Fentress' body, being able to safely leave the train with Christina and the rest of the passengers. (Source: Wikipedia)

When I started watching the film, I found some similarities with other previous films, for example, Deja VĂș (with Denzel Washington). An army project that is able to move in time to control and change important events and find the responsibles of those events. The plot was really simple but played by an amazing cast who made it worth to watch. I wouldn't say the film ends with a twisted scene or situation, but I didn't expect it.

I would rate this movie with a 3.5/5


Have you watched the film? What did you like or dislike from this movie? What would you rate this movie? Share with us your thoughts!

Enjoy it!... Watch it!

0 comments

Post a Comment

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...

Recent Tweets

Follow 35mmReviews on Twitter