Not quite Inception, but one of the years best films.

Rating: 8/10 (26 July 2011)

Jake Gylanhaal stars in the latest film from director Duncan Jones, Source code, a mixture of Groundhog day and The Matrix that holds your interest and keeps throwing surprises at you. It's not quite Matrix or Inception, but its still a very good film.
Gylenhaal plays Captain Stevens, a helicopter pilot who has been put into the body of a stranger on a train. The train has already been destroyed, but Stevens is sent back in time through a program called The Source Code, and in eight minutes has to find the bomber before he strikes again.
The train has already been destroyed, but there is a way that he can stop it. The always delightful Michelle Monaghan plays Christina, a fellow passenger who is dating the person that he is pretending to be, and Vera Farmiga and Jeffery Wright play two people running The Source Code.
I really liked the film. I thought it was smart, fun, and engaging, and I will say that it is one of my favorite films of the year. But I can't quite put it up there with Inception or The Matrix. But what I can say is that director Duncan Jones(who directed 2009's weirdly brilliant Moon) is on his way to being one of Hollywood's best directors. But that doesn't surprise me, especially because he is David Bowie's son, and he is a genius also.
I liked the characters, especially Monaghan, who always has a charming presence about her. I liked Gylenhaal too, and its good to see him back in top form(though I've liked everything he's done since Donnie Darko). The two, though it doesn't show it, have great chemistry. Overall, a very good thriller, just not quite perfection. Almost though.
A-