Very Good - Would watch it again and again.

Rating: Null/10 (31 July 2011)

It has been some time since I viewed a movie I could quickly and easily rate as 8 out of 10 stars. This one is certainly it. It has plot originality, almost constant suspense, on-screen chemistry between the stars, superior supporting acting, excellent cinematography... A film like this makes me wonder why I never heard of it before the DVD release.
Jake Gyllenhaal and Michelle Monaghan click almost instantly. Jeffrey Wright and Vera Farmiga deliver fine acting in their supporting roles. Not an easy feat since facial expressions are what their characters have to work with in this quite original script.
While this is primarily a Suspense/Drama/Science Fiction flick, there is also some action, mystery, and a tad of romance.
Gyllenhaal plays a military man assigned to a computer-created reenactment of recent events with orders to discover who was responsible for a terrorist act. Like many science fiction movies, the "science" allowing this is a little hard to wrap one's head around. Nevertheless, I found myself OK with it, as more and more details emerge about what is really going on. And when the mystery resolves, what Gyllenhaal decides to do with the information he has acquired makes for a very interesting outcome.
This is a very good movie and I would watch it again, even knowing what happens. Highly recommended.