A very intriguing sci-fi concept..

Rating: 7/10 (8 April 2011)

"Source Code" opens with a man who awakens in a train in front of a woman who apparently is his girlfriend. he then stumbles upon a mirror and finds that his reflection is different. While arguing with the passengers the train is blown up, killing everyone on board.
The man wakes up in a metallic chamber of sorts. A screen lights up and shows a female officer debriefing him about his situation. It turns out that he is a soldier used in a revolutionary device known as the "Source Code" which "sends him back" to the time and place before the bombings. No - they do not want him to save the day, the events have already happened and they are using him to find out who did it and to stop them since they had planned it to be a series of attacks on the city.
If the plot is anything to go by, "Source Code" is an extremely entertaining thriller with the right amount of action, suspense, mystery and romance. It is also - a rarity for movies today - a blockbuster which also makes you think. Not at the same level of "Inception", mind you - this is a totally different ball game. While not nearly as deep as "Inception" or "Blade Runner" the science fiction concept got me thinking for a while. This isn't a sci-fi classic, but it's close.
As for the acting, Jake Gyllenhaal makes for a solid action lead with him balancing the emotions at the right time; Vera Farmiga is somewhat cold in the beginning as the officer in charge of Gyllenhaal's situation and Michelle Monaghan plays the clichéd love interest, but both do fairly well in their roles; but Jeffrey Wright is superb as the somewhat quirky/creepy scientist.
As for the plot, some call it an amalgamation of "Groundhog Day" and "Deja Vu" with a heavy twist of "The Matrix". Call it as you like, but I found it intriguing - even bordering on "hard" sci-fi, where done wrong it would be a disaster, however it is done right here; Wright's scientist character explains it all in a short but straightforward way that you will find it easy to understand and yet think whether this is possible or not. Preposterous? Maybe. Ingenious? Definitely.
Production wise - the production design and art direction are good for what they can offer. The special effects - dodgy at times, fluid during others. The editing - good but somewhat hokey during the "time travel" parts. Camera work - superb. You get to see everything that happens without a cameraman inflicted with Parkinsons'. The music is great by Chris Bacon - a fresh composer I've never heard of - whose music style reminisces of the glory days of the '80s/'90s orchestral action film scores by Jerry Goldsmith.
This is director Duncan Jones' second feature film after the brilliant "Moon" two years ago, and Ben Ripley's first mainstream screenplay after the back-to-back direct-to-video Species sequels. Jones and Ripley work wonders with the script, adding a huge sense of unpredictability and intelligence in an already smart script. Just when you think you've got it, there's a surprise after another. Jones keeps the film tight and taut, with the film's length of 90 minutes never holding back.
My only gripe is with the ending, the film could've been a classic had it not been for a (somewhat) Hollywood ending, or if it had the final three minutes cut off, right after the still frame. It may get you thinking about whether it is real or not, though.
In short, this is a very good, though not great, blockbuster, with some really neat thrills and ingenious twists, an intriguing sci-fi concept and some good performances that will reach out to the mainstream moviegoer, that could have been better. Hard sci-fi fans may finds this a tad too tame, but will appreciate Jones and Ripley for trying to bring back the genre one small step at a time.
Overall rating: 77/100