Duncan Jones' solid follow up to Moon.

Rating: 9/10 (29 January 2014)

Source Code is the second feature film by director Duncan Jones who directed the fantastic Moon. After I finished watching Moon a few years back, I instantly went to IMDb and checked what Jones had in the works. After reading the plot synopsis for Source Code, I immediately started looking forward to it. The wait was certainly worth it.
Source Code centers around Captain Colter Stevens, played by Jake Gyllenhaal, who finds himself in the body of another man while traveling on a commuter train that's doomed to explode. Stevens' mission is to find the man who bombed the train. Each time he fails, he is sent back in for another 8 minutes. Just like Groundhog Day, we see the same scenario and conversations over and over, but the scenes never get boring due to a mix of editing and alternate camera angles.
The 8 minute time constraints gives the film a certain urgency that's often attempted in film, but rarely executed to the extent in Source Code. As Stevens continues his search for the bomber in 8 minute bites of time, the film turns into an engaging "who done it". Not satisfied with just finding the bomber, Stevens sets out to find a way to save the passengers, particularly Christina Warren played by Michelle Monaghan. Stevens is told that this is impossible because the fate of the people on the train is already set and that time on the train only exists in that 8 minute memory. This knowledge doesn't keep him from trying.
Source Code has another interesting aspect and that is how Captain Stevens even got involved with the Source Code. In between trying to find the bomber/save the passengers on the train, Stevens is trying to solve who he is.
I thought that they could have given Monaghan a little bit more to do, but watching the relationship between Stevens and Mongahan blossom in 8 minute intervals is truly heartwarming. The more Stevens blows up on the train, the more he empathizes with Warren. The sorrow can be seen on Gyllenhaal's face every time he looks at Warren. Knowing that she is doomed only drives him more to find a way to saver her.
Maybe the most memorable parts of the film is at the end of the 8 minutes when the train repeatedly explodes. It sounds odd to say, but the explosion is portrayed in such a beautifully tragic way.
Source Code has similar elements from some great films including 12 Monkeys, Groundhog Day, and even Inception. Unlike Inception that doesn't even try to burden the viewer with the ins and outs of how they are able to enter dreams, Source Code explains its physics in an easy to understand way. That's not to say you don't have to suspend belief a little bit.
Source Code feels like a lot of popular Sci-fi films, but it takes the viewer in unexpected directions. Watching the same 8 minutes over and over again never gets old and only adds to the building tension of the film. All in all, Source Code is the best film I've seen this year and one of the better Sci-fi films I've seen in years.