May this suspenseful Sci-Fi lead to more, equally impressive movies.

Rating: 8/10 (18 April 2011)

That time of year - beginning in the month of April - where truly great movies start to emerge is finally upon us, so it's no surprise that I should get exactly what I wanted out of the Sci-Fi/Suspense Source Code.
The film stars Jake Gylenhaal as Colter Stevens, a US Army helicopter pilot recruited for a top secret operation known as the Source Code, which enables a person to relive the last eight minutes of a life deceased during a major catastrophe, and used to prevent further foul happenings from taking place. He is repeatedly sent into the scenario of a pre train explosion in the guise of another man to try and piece together the mystery of the bomber, all the while falling in love with a woman (Played by Michelle Monaghan) sitting in the row directly across from him.
The film is directed by Duncan Jones, the man behind 2009's intriguing Moon, and he's obviously not a one trick pony. One of the things I love so much about the film is that it reminds me of the sort of film Alfred Hitchcock would have directed, right down to chilly atmosphere and editing, kinetic cinematography (Supplied here by the great Don Burgess), and a ubiquitous musical score which evokes all the tension that Hitchcock's longtime collaborator Bernard Herrmann would extract. Jones is a visually impressive director, and he only does good things for this movie.
But the screenplay by Ben Ripley is just as much to thank for how good the movie is. He balances the arks of the characters, the action sequences, and the ever present desire to solve mystery in erect, orderly structure, and offers appropriate opportunities for the cast, specifically that of Gylenhaal, as well as Michelle Monaghan, Vera Farmiga, and Jeffrey Wright, to truly shine and showcase their talent. Just be sure you're keeping your uninterrupted attention on what's happening.
The movie is a huge collaborative effort, and as a result, a tense, intelligent film that must not be missed. May Source Code lead to other fantastic works in 2011.
*** out of ****