Source Code 2011 Movie Review
Source Code is necessary for programming a computer, but what about as a movie? Billed as a sci-fi thriller, is it truly a quantum leap of movie-making? Or should Source Code just another Groundhog Day film gon sci-fi? Let’s take a look at the movie, and find out if it’s “go see” or a “pass it by”.
Source Code Beginning
Have you ever woken up from a vivid dream and not remember for a second who you are or what you’ve been doing? If so, you know what Captain Colter Stevens (played by Jake Gyllenhaal) feels like. He’s woken up inside the body of a man by the name of Sean Fentress, who is on a train and doesn’t know how he got there. He meets Christina (played by Michelle Monaghan) but it’s a short-lived relationship because the train blows up.
Colter wakes up and sees Colleen Goodwin (played by Vera Farmiga), who is part of a military experiment called Source Code. She explains that the project allows Colter to experience the last 8 minutes of a person’s life by actually taking it over.
Is 8 Minutes Enough?
The train Colter was on was blown up by a bomber/terrorist who not only hid the bomb on the train, but has threatened to detonate a nuclear device at an undisclosed place in Chicago. Colter’s mission is to keep going back to those last 8 minutes of being Sean Fentress to find that bomb…and the bomber who placed it there. If Colter can do that, the military can find the nuclear device and disarm it before it kills millions of people.
Source Code 2011 Movie Review
The Plot Thickens
Since Colter ends up in the Source Code chamber and is debriefed after every mission, he starts finding out bits and pieces about why he was chosen for the experiment. Not only is Colter very similar in looks to Sean, but Colter died during the war in Afghanistan. The project creator, Dr. Rutledge (played by Jeffrey Wright), claims that the leaps back in time are merely a simulation, and that Colter can’t change anything in the past. Colter doesn’t quite believe that.
Although he wants out and is ready to die a second time, Colter changes his mind after hearing an interview involving his father (played by Scott Bakula), Colter decides to go forward, complete the mission and somehow save Christina in the process.
Leap of Faith
So, is Source Code an action-packed thriller worth watching…or it is merely a film that makes you think Quantum Leap meets Groundhog Day?
The word from both the critics and movie-goers is that Source Code is a cut above the films that have been out recently, and is a definite go-see. Jake Gyllenhaal does a great job as Captain Colter Stevens, and the movie has plots twists and turns enough to keep you guessing at times. If you like sci fi and/or thrillers, you’ll like Source Code.
