Another terrific sci-fi thriller that more than lives up to the hype.

Rating: 9/10 (1 April 2011)

The years 2009 and 2011 in the film world have one thing in common and that is a superb year for the science fiction genre. In 2009 there were three, District 9, Star Trek and the very underrated Surrogates. This year so far there have been two, Limitless and now Source Code. When I first heard about this film I was taken aback by the high IMDb rating of an 8.1 and on the statistics most people were rating this a nine or a ten. Well I'm pleased to say the hype has been more than justified and this is almost as brilliant as Limitless.
Without going into a synopsis as other reviewers will undoubtedly do anyway, the idea of alternate realities (Quantum theory) and going back to a point in time, more specifically for eight minutes is an interesting premise (all this due to the programme Source Code). It explores the premise to some extent, but where this film mainly succeeds is not in the science, (which was a bit confusing and not entirely credible) is in fact the acting and the characters, Jake Gyllenhaal as Colter Stevens gives a great performance and is always convincing throughout the movie. Michelle Monaghan as Cristina Warren I think was a bit underwritten but she humanises the whole movie with a touching, charming and believable performance and is the movies biggest asset. Gyllenhaal and Monaghan in their roles because of their believable performances makes you emotionally connect with them as characters and come to care about what happens to them as they also have a lovely chemistry on screen.
They are helped by a script which was well written and sharp. I was also taken with the cinematography of the "source code" universe, which was beautiful to look at, the special effects were also superb as well. There was plenty of suspense and tension throughout as well and it kept me watching to the end. Speaking of the end I have to say I was a bit disappointed. Don't get me wrong your glad for Cristina and Colter and I am all for happy endings, but it just felt conveniently added on to me and there was no explanation at all of how it came to be as it was with the simulation of only eight minutes becoming a reality universe. So you are left with a big question, which ultimately left me feeling a bit incomplete.
Saying that Source Code more than entertained me and it's nice to see a sci-fi movie that dosen't just care about the action but the characters as well, which gives it heart. Definitely worth going to see.