Good, old-fashioned sci-fi thriller hokum. Go for it

Rating: 7/10 (4 February 2013)

Many of the objections cited here against various films, which invariably begin with the claim that 'this is 90 minutes of my life I'll never get back', baffle me. Those involved in filmmaking do so for any number of reasons ranging from the purely commercial to artistic and political, and however good or bad one thinks a film is, it is almost always very obvious why a particular film was made. And usually it is to attract a fee-paying public to cough up the readies to, naturally, cover all production costs and then turn a handsome profit. Source Code, billed as a sci-fi thriller, is one such film. But a great many user reviews on this website lambast it for 'poor science' and using various computer terms misleadingly. Well, what on earth were they expecting from a film? What did they make of the Star Wars series, of The Day After Tomorrow, Independence Day, Jurassic Park and any number of other films which deal, ever so superficially, science? So please don't be put off by some of the criticisms here. Source Code is a rollicking, very entertaining, intriguing and exciting film. No more, no less. It makes no grand statement, doesn't take itself too seriously, keeps you watching, includes loads of quite daft science, has a touching, though quite slight, romantic angle, and for my money is worth the time of anyone who would like to relax watching a well-made, entertaining film. Don't listen to the harping critics, sit down and watch this. You won't be a 'better person' afterwards, you won't have altered your political views, you won't be in tears, and you most definitely won't have learnt a little more science, but you will have enjoyed a great piece of sci-fi thriller hokum.