If Your Life Has Only 8 Minutes Left

Rating: Null/10 (5 August 2011)

"Everything is gonna be OK". These words stay in my mind after I saw the movie Source Code. They are said by Colter Stevens, the main actor in the movie, played by Jake Gyllenhaal. Through Source Code, the director not only presents a science-fictional world created by his outstanding talent, but also questions us what life is to us by a complex but ingenious story including issues such as love, morality and regret.
The plot, by Ben Ripley who was the writer of two unsuccessful movies, Species 3 and 4, has finally won lots of audiences. It's about a soldier, Colter Stevens, who, on finding himself with a different face and identity on a strange train, is blown up after 8 minutes. After the explosion, he wakes up in a sealed container, can only talk with his commander thorough a monitor, and finds what he has experienced on the train is generated by a computer program, named Source Code, from the 8-minute remaining memory from the deaths of that train. His mission is to find out who set the bomb and to prevent a large explosion in the near future. Then, he is sent back into the same program again and again. During this process, he finds the container where he is trapped is also generated by source code. What is the conspiracy? Also, his short but genuine love to the girl who sits opposite to him and his regret to his father make him suffered. What would he do in these 8 minutes? Though style has been compromised to the ticket box office, this movie has inherited the "geek attribute" of The Moon, one of the best independent scientific fiction movies in 2009. Directed by Duncan Jones who also directed The Moon, Source Code is his first try on commercial movie. However, it has earned a gross of $54,696,902 only in USA and has an overall score 7.3 of 10 in IMDb. As a sci-fi movie, it has compact paces, imaginative plot and elaborated editing. The unexpected ending leaves the audience an interesting problem to explore and provokes a heated discussion on the internet. It is clear that Source Code maintains a high standard of a sci-fi movie should have, while winning a good popular appreciation.
Besides the scientific fiction side of Source Code, which can be regarded as the rational part of this movie, the emotional part also outweighs other sci-fi movies. The movie sets several 8-minute countdowns for not only Colter in the story, but also audience in front of the screen, to think about what is the most correct way to solve the problem. When getting closer to the truth, you will also question yourself. What is the most important thing in my life when I have only 8 minutes left? What if I have another 8 minutes? Can I live it more meaningfully? What has to be mentioned again is the ending; it does not fall at a cliché with a sadly beautiful ending; it gives you inspiration and faith to change your life and your beloved.
In the end, I have to say, Source Code has a perfect combination of science fiction and romantic love. The ending of the story worth is 86 minutes wait. If you cannot wait, what I can tell you right now, in his last 8 minutes, the main actor chooses to save the world, say sorry to who he hurt, kiss who he loves, and tells her everything's gonna be OK. Just imagine you have 8 minutes left in your life, what would you do?