Action/sci-fi/thriller w/a Hitchcockian/The Twilight Zone feel

Rating: 8/10 (7 March 2012)

Colter Stevens (Jake Gyllenhaal) wakes up on a train to discover he's assumed the identity (and body) of someone named Sean Fentress. Confusion quickly sets in for the military pilot - his last memory is of a mission gone haywire in Afghanistan. Eight minutes later, after the train explodes, he's strapped inside a cold, dark pod. He is soon contacted by Goodwin (Vera Farmiga) who bombards him with questions about the train and the explosion. Struggling to make sense of what happened, he fires back with questions of his own. Careful not to disclose too much information, Goodwin instructs him that he has eight minutes to track down the bomb and the bomber. Any deviation from the mission, including trying to save passengers, is highly discouraged.
He's transported back into Sean's body over and over until, finally, he speaks to a man who appears to be in charge of the mysterious operation, Dr. Rutledge (Jeffrey Wright). It turns out that Colter is in a project called Source Code, which allows him to relive the last eight minutes of Sean's life in order to gather valuables clues about the bomber. For Rutledge, it's about the objective. For Colter, it's now about saving the lives of the passengers, particularly Christina (Michelle Monaghan), the pretty and flirtatious passenger he's steadily been growing feelings for. One problem: Source Code is not time travel - it's time reassignment. It's metaphysics, quantum theory, and a host of other scientific concepts that will likely fly over most viewers' heads but don't worry, you don't need to understand how Source Code works in order to enjoy the movie.
Source Code has been mentioned with and compared to Nolan's wildly popular dream invasion flick, Inception. Having seen both, I urge you not to go into Source Code expecting an Inception knock-off. While both films have their strengths, I found Jones' action/sci-fi/thriller miles better with its character development. Another plus is that it has a very Hitchcockian/The Twilight Zone feel to it in that it relies on its story and the actors, rather than extravagant CGI and a dramatic soundtrack. Having said that, as much as I gripe about the over-use of CGI, the special effects in this movie are rather underwhelming and a bit dated. No biggie, though. This isn't the kind of movie that relies on grandiose computer generated imaging and it's certainly not hindered by any lack of it.
Ironically, I loved this film (and its delightfully dreamy leading man) until the last eight minutes. A 9/10 knocked down to an 8/10 for its ridiculously sentimental, typical Hollywood "and they all lived happily ever after" ending. I'm not a pessimist. I root for the underdog. I believe in soulmates and love at first sight. I like to see karma reward the good guy or gal but closure should be a resolution that makes sense for the characters and viewers in a way that doesn't completely insult either parties. There's poignant (frozen kiss) and then there's sickly sweet (let's go look at our reflections in the big, shiny thing).
I think Source Code is more suited for mainstream audiences than films like Inception or 12 Monkeys so I give it the go-ahead to most of you out there.