Terse code

Rating: 7/10 (13 July 2011)

I love films or TV programmes that play with the idea of circular time and this movie is an especially good example. Like most of its type, it takes a little while to actually suss what exactly is going on, but once you settle into the rhythm of it, this is a taut, intriguing thriller which keeps you watching until the end.
I got the references to the 80's TV show "Quantum Leap" right down to Scott Bakula's off-screen cameo as the voice of Jake Ghyllenhaal's character's father and of course it's not hard to see links to the likes of "Groundhog Day", "Speed" and even the old Powell & Pressburger classic "A Matter Of Life And Death" amongst others that I no doubt missed.
Perhaps a little too much is compressed into the film's 90 minute running time, the way for instance that Ghyllenhaal so quickly finds first the bomb and then the bomber and possibly the freeze-frame moment on the train at the end is a bit too happy-clappy, but these sins are quite easy to forgive, given the main body of evidence here.
Gyllenhaal and Monaghan convey an easy chemistry in their recurring 8 minute relationship and Vera Farmiga is also fine as the programmer with a heart who gives in to her humanity in allowing Gylenhaal's character a dignified release after he duly saves the world.
All in all, this was a good thriller, well edited, shot and played delivering a race against time actioner alongside a make-you-think premise on alternative realities.