Source Code is still absolutely worth seeing, especially when you compare it to its competition

Rating: 7/10 (17 June 2011)

The success strategy of Inception seems fairly easy to pull off. Reality bending sci-fi, action romances cater to just about every audience and has already been copied to similar success. Source Code may fall into this category, but it subverts any notions to prove that it's a cash in to deliver a solid, dialogue driven sci-fi.
Colter Stevens (Jake Gyllenhaal) wakes up in a train en route to downtown Chicago surrounded by people that the woman across from him (Michelle Monaghan) claims that he knows- the last thing he remembers is flying a helicopter in Afghanistan. His confusion is only made worse exactly 8 minutes later when a violent explosion engulfs his carriage- killing everyone on board. As opposed to dying, he wakes up in a dark, metal capsule with only a solitary computer monitor providing him with some context. Captain Colleen Goodwin (Vera Farmiga), the woman on the monitor, sends only ambiguous hints but he soon comes to realise that he is the first user of Source Code. Source Code is a computer program that allows you to relive the last 8 minutes of someone's life. After blowing up the train, a terrorist is threatening to detonate a dirty bomb in the centre of Chicago and Colter is sent into the last eight minutes of one of the passengers lives to uncover the terrorist's identity to stop his future attacks. Colter reluctantly accepts his part, learning more about the passengers on train and the army operators on the other side of the monitor with each jump.
Source code is rather unique in that its characters and dialogue are the focus though it's undoubtedly science fiction. The current sci-fi trend seems to be computer effects becoming the stand-in for emotions across the board and it's refreshing to see Source Code reject this. So far this review sounds interchangeable with Inception, but the two do come across very differently. Source Code is a lot more character driven than Inception, with a relatively simple premise being strung along by the cast members' personality and nuances. Along with the main character you begin to gain a familiarity to the people on the train, with each jump creating different circumstances and consequently highlighting different parts of their personalities. You understand the urgency of the military officers' situation but also the moral dilemmas put forth by their actions. This level of detail, not only in the plot but in its characters, makes Source Code a rich experience.
Ironically the least polished part of Source Code is its science fiction. Mechanics of how Source Code works are glanced over and raise more questions than answering them. The details are even more obscured when the ending of the movie completely demolishes the facts that they spent so long explaining. The third act is actually the weakest part of the film. As the game changing plot point is revealed halfway through the second act, the film slows down from there, culminating in an overly sentimental ending which clashes with the tone it set beforehand.
Despite these criticisms, Source Code is still absolutely worth seeing, especially when you compare it to its competition. It's one of the rare blockbuster films with both a brain and a heart and it's still as thrilling as any other pure action film.
Taken from my blog at http://aguywholikesmovies.blogspot.com/