SXSW 2011: Source Code Review

The Source Code line

When I first saw the trailer for Source Code, I wasn't really excited to see the film. To me, it seemed like a mix between the Bourne films and Unstoppable. However, I'm not quite sure why I doubted that Duncan Jones wouldn't come out with something great. His film Moon premiered at SXSW last year, and went on to win many critical accolades. Source Code is a different kind of film, but still packed a punch.

The crowd in the Paramount Theatre was electric. Jones was in the audience, as was the films star's Jake Gyllenhaal, Vera Farmiga and Michelle Monaghan. The director said a few words, and then it was time to delve into the world of Source Code.

The trailers for the film made it seem like the real mystery was going to be whether or not Gyllenhaal's character Colter Stevens would be able to save Monaghan's Christina from an exploding train. However, the viewer soon realizes that there is a bigger mystery in play. The film begins on the train, and Stevens realizing that he is in someone else's body. The audience goes on the mysterious ride with Stevens, before the train explodes and we are all transported to a pod of sorts, with Stevens awaking in confusion.

Jake Gyllenhall

In a groundhog day manner, the film goes back to the same eight minutes on the train, and each time Stevens is more and more familiar with his surroundings. His goal is too find out who planted the bomb on the train. Yet the audience wants to know less about the bomb, and more about the pod Steven's wakes up in every time the train explodes, and who the mysterious Commander Goodwin (played by Up In the Air's Vera Farmiga) is. Stevens is completely isolated from everyone else, communicating with Goodwin by video feed only. This isolation harks back to themes explored in Jone's previous film, Moon.

Without giving anything away, the film takes the audience on multiple twists and turns. Gyllenhaal is the perfect leading man. Last year he starred in films like Prince of Persia and Love and Other Drugs, but this seems like his most comfortable role. He is a modern day action star, a normal guy thrust into a dangerous situation. Farmiga and Monaghan played their roles well also.

The script had a few holes, but I was on the edge of my seat the whole time. And though the special effects were not up to Inception level, I certainly flinched a few times at the realistic nature of the train explosions.

I would recommend this film to those who enjoy their science fiction with a dash of action. I give Source Code a 3.5/5