Sometimes, films are unjustly judged. Other times, popular opinion needs to be challenged. Either way, our review of Source Code will almost definitely be Unpopularity Content.
On paper, I should love everything about Source Code. I’m a big fan of Jake Gyllenhaal, I’ve been a sci-fi nerd all my life, and I think Duncan Jones (Moon) is one of the most underrated directors of our time. Considering all that, I should love Source Code as much as most critics’ reviews suggest they did. Unfortunately, I don’t.
Jake Gyllenhaal stars as Captain Colter Forgettablename, a confused military operator who’s being given orders by a face on a screen (Vera Farmiga). He’s tasked with entering the consciousness of a man named Sean Fentress, a teach on a commuter train, where he must relive the same eight minutes over and over to deduce the identity of a bomber. He’s told that the attack is unavoidable, but that uncovering the perpetrator is imperative.
It’s not a hugely complicated idea: Groundhog Day meets Murder on the Orient Express, is one of the common descriptions. It’s essentially that: a claustrophobic (both in a physical and temporal sense) adventure that explores Captain Gyllenhaal’s duty of responsibility no matter the odds with a fun time loop clause thrown into the mix. It’s a sci-fi thriller through and through, relying heavily on its handful of stars to really sell it to the audience.
Source Code Gets Tangled In Its Own Quantum Web
As much as Source Code has a lot going for it, it’s ultimately a victim of its own ambition. The attempt to explain the complex science behind its story using vague assertions about quantum physics are frustratingly transparent. For all that needless complexity though, its ending still somehow comes off as strangely predictable.
Gyllenhaal is excellent as always, exuding true leading man quality in every scene. Michelle Monaghan and Vera Farmiga play their roles well, although they aren’t given a great deal to do. The production values are solid, and the effects are perfectly adequate. However, there’s no genuinely impressive feature of Source Code, and therin lies the problem.
Jones as a director typically has such vivid vision for his films, but that’s absent here. Perhaps its because he didn’t write the script, because the story itself feels rather flat and never quite as exciting as it aspires to be. Though Source Code is undeniably well-made and passably entertaining, it simply isn’t deserving of the heaped praise it received upon release.
Rating: 60%
Summary: Source Code takes a fun premise and turns it into an average film. There’s nothing inherently bad about it, but it’s simply all a little underwhelming.
Highlight: Gyllenhaal’s appropriately confused and panicked performance stands out as the film’s best aspect.