After more than the excellent "Moon", the expectations for Duncan Jones' second film, which for a moment became one of the most interesting and discussed names working in the fantastic genre, jumped to the heavens, but the fear of repeating that , which happened to Richard Kelly, who, after the great "Donnie Darko", surprises us with the giant failure "Southland Tales". Thankfully, the case turned out to be different because "Source Code " is a smart, well-made and engaging film that proves that Moon was not a coincidence. Of course, I will not comment on his next and last movie "Warcraft: The Beginning", which confirms Richard Kelly's tendency.
Captain Colter Stevens (Jake Gyllenhaal) wakes up in the body of an unknown man traveling on a train to Chicago with no idea how and why he is on board after being on a military mission in Afghanistan. A few minutes later, the train exploded, and once more, Colter woke up in an unknown place with no idea what was going on. It turns out that he is part of a government experiment called "Source Code " - a program that allows his mind to be transferred to another person's body in the last 8 minutes of his life - in this case a passenger on board a train that had been blown up before a few hours. The aim is to find the bomber and thus prevent the possibility of a second, much larger catastrophe in the center of Chicago. Colter is forced to experience the 8 minutes before the incident again and again, each time collecting new clues that bring him closer to both the bomber and the truth about his participation in the experiment.
Because of the repetition of the same period of time, the comparison with "Groundhog Day" has to be compared, but there is no similarity between the two films, nothing that makes "Source Code " love thread. In fact, the comparison with "Deja Vu", "12 Monkeys," that even "Inception" would be more appropriate. And here is a fantasy thriller (a technology that does not exist at this stage) in which the main character has a limited time to accomplish a particular task, and in which, if you try to deepen the basic idea, rationalize it and trace all of its possible variations, you will find a lot of paradoxes and cracks in history. The difference, however, is that, despite the big race and the big threat, "Source Code " is a much smaller and personal movie than "Moon". And it is not a matter of the spatial limitation of action, but of the emotional and psychological problems of the hero and, most importantly, of his overwhelming desire for dissociation and his desire at least to try to resist what dictates common sense. Few sounds, but if you've seen the movie, you'll probably understand what I mean. I just do not want to make key moments of the plot, although just as in the "Moon", they become clear early on.
Of course, there are twists and turns (most of the obvious) as well as a "surprising" finish. Do not worry, I will not tell anything important, not to mention that I will not get the place to write it so you can understand me. I just want to mention that it is as surprising as it is expected. He carries a certain emotional charge and puts some pretty interesting and complex questions of a moral nature, but in general, for me personally, he is one of the weak elements of the film. Another weak element is the other characters. The idea is to care for them, but in the end we could not do much less, even for those we know about. Michelle Monahan, as the sympathetic girl our hero is supposed to be trying to save, has no role and is more schematically represented by even a few passengers with one speech. The image of Vera Farmie has daughters of depth, but she just does not have enough time to pay attention to her. And for Jeffrey Wright, I just do not know what to say to you, I think he is doing his best, even though he probably gives more credibility than it looked on paper. Although not quite in "Moon" class, and with certain shortcomings, "Source Code " is a pleasant, intelligent, and last but not least, entertainment film, which shows that even studio films (because it is such) can be intelligent when approaching them with love and understanding of the genre. I recommend this movie.
