like a Twilight Zone episode... only a very good one, and by a strong director

Rating: 8/10 (12 April 2011)

Duncan Jones and science fiction, after only two films, makes for a pretty darn good fit. With 'Moon' he had an exploration of an astronaut losing his mind on a spaceship with a talking Kevin Spacey robot as his only companion, and it was a surprisingly entertaining-but-deep exploration into consciousness and what it's like to be lonely in space. Now with Source Code he has a more traditional Hollywood film - a ticking time-bomb scenario that doubles back on itself repeatedly as a soldier (Jake Gyllenhaal) is caught up in a mission to find out where a bomb will go off on a train heading towards Chicago. It's a time travel movie, in a sense. I say that last part since Jones and his writer do something clever and unexpectedly touching with it: the character is not exactly on the train, but rather his 'self' is transplanted into the body of another man on the train, with an attractive woman (Michelle Monaghan) and he has to keep looking for clues at to first where the bomb is and second who will set it off.
But, as with any good Twilight Zone style story, there's twists and turns that make for an unexpected trip. What's somewhat unexpected is how much heart the director puts into the material. It's as much, if not moreso, about a man having to come to terms with his own mortality and his relationship with his father that was left without resolution before this mission. Plus there's the whole thing of 'can-you-change-the-past' kind of thing and what this Source Code could provide, which is akin to what was done in Twelve Monkeys only with more to-the-minute timing ala 24. I was drawn into the science of it, and the trickier questions of 'is this "right"' as coming from essentially a military-prevention-weapon' stand-point (and Jeffrey Wright's character, kind of channeling Cornel West?).
Aside from the cleverness displayed in the plotting, which is classic in its science fiction appeal and how it deals with the mystery without too many flash and gimmicks (mostly relying on some solid supporting characters, the kind that might pop up as 'characters' in a Hitchcock train picture), the acting from Gyllenhaal is really a winner here. Maybe it's cause of what's there in the character to explore, and his relationships and connections with the outside world that were left unresolved, but he really knocks it out of the park here, as he's stuck in this chamber of sorts for half of the movie in-between when he's zapped back to the train and has to think quickly on his feet. As an actor Gyllenhaal has always had his charms, but now as he grows older with this film and last year's Love & Other Drugs he's come into his own as an actor-star. Just watch as he calls up his "father" on the train near the end. It's more moving that I would have ever expected.
Sure the film has a few minor faults with some of the supporting actors- I never believed that "comic" on the subway car, and the villain when he's revealed is a little too simplistic for this story- but the main story is tight and it makes real suspense out of the "will this happen" and then has a big reveal near the end that turns the story completely on its head. It's still a 'Hollywood' blockbuster, but it features the same attention to "smart" (or just not-as-crappy) science fiction that Jones showed with his previous film. I look forward to whatever he does next. 8.5/10