Suspense reigns in the exciting and entertaining “Source Code.” Albeit far-fetched and convoluted, it’s a hi-tech thriller going back and forth in time from the present to the past and back again. US army helicopter pilot, Captain Colter Stevens (an intense Jake Gyllenhaal) finds himself surreptitiously transported to a speeding passenger train. Then and there, discovering he’s not himself; his face isn’t his and he’s in another man’s body! Fantasy abounds in the present-day adventure of an unknown terrorist who blows up the train killing all aboard including Colter. The reality is he’s part of a unique covert military experiment and is given back eight minutes before the explosion. If he can learn the perpetrator’s identity, catastrophe can be averted. Each succeeding time Colter relives the same events and acquires more information but time is running out.
Director Duncan Jones of “Moon” presents another sci-fi premise driven by charismatic Jake Gyllenhaal in an invigorating performance. If the inconsistencies can be overlooked, Gyllenhaal sturdily carries the movie and effectively conveys the emotions of a man engulfed in inexplicable circumstances. The film borrows from (e.g.) “Groundhog Day,” “Vantage Point,” and “Memento.” Despite the repetition, “Code” moves briskly forward without boredom or frustration. In skimpy roles, Michelle Monaghan is a perplexed passenger; Vera Farmiga is short-shrifted as Colter’s military contact, and ditto Jeffrey Wright, the scientific brain behind the code in this complex undertaking.
Image Source: Mattfind
