Duncan Jones does it again!

Rating: 7/10 (13 July 2011)

Duncan Jones (Moon) gives us yet another short-and-sweet sci-fi treat with Source Code. I didn't like it as much as I loved Moon; but this is still a very respectable watch as some sci-fi is too outlandish and over-the-top for everyday people (non sci-fi fans) to enjoy -- this one has a story that I think should appeal to anybody (it simply is grounded in sci-fi).
As the film plays out (quickly), we discover that Jake Gyllenhaal (Donnie Darko, Brokeback Mountain, Jarhead) is being sent into a parallel reality to find the source of a bomb on a commuter train headed into the metropolitan area of Chicago. Seated across from him is a pretty passenger who knows him (although he doesn't know her) played by Michelle Monaghan (Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, North Country, Somewhere). With only 8 minutes at a time to move about and discover something new about his environment, our hero only has limited options.
As the urgency presses, his supervisor who appears to him via video screen, Vera Farmiga (Up in the Air, Orphan, The Departed) reveals to him why he has been chosen for this task and why it needs to be solved. Her supervisor, in turn, Jeffrey Wright (Shaft, Casino Royale, The Invasion) wants her to keep mum on all info she offers him and the secret soon comes into focus.
The film plays out at a taut pace and it keeps one's interest rather easily. Gylleenaal and Monaghan are two of my favorite in the upcoming-next-generation of Hollywood so they help make the film play-out even when we are questioning what it is exactly we are seeing. While this one does NOT have a Moon-esque twist at the film's end, it is gripping nonetheless.
I'd recommend Source Code to anybody who likes suspenseful drama ... and leave out its sci-fi element entirely as it isn't what makes that film. THAT is Gyllenhaal and Monaghan.