Source Code may be one of the nerdiest movie titles in recent memory. I can just imagine a guy trying to take a girl to this movie.
Guy: “Do you want to go see Source Code this weekend?”
Girl: “I’d rather be dead than see another computer programming movie. What kind of reviews is it getting? C++?” (girls are not that clever)
Guy: “It has Jake Gyllenhaal in it.”
Girl: “I’ll get my coat.”
Thankfully Source Code is not as boring as the name suggests. Gyllenhaal plays Colter Stevens, a military pilot involved in an experimental program that allows him to jump into the body of a stranger for 8 minutes at a time and find the bomber before the passenger train explodes. He fails many times and is always thrust back to reality to report back to his superiors.
This movie is able to be multi-layered but also easy enough to follow (unlike Sucker Punch). Even when you have to watch the 8 minutes on the train repeated times (ala Groundhog Day) it doesn’t get tedious.
I believe this is Jake Gyllenhaal’s best acting since 2001’s Donnie Darko. You actually care for this guy and want him to discover his specific role in the movie’s events. Vera Farmiga plays one of his superiors and does a fantastic job as a conflicted leader who questions the ethics of the experiment.
This movie is actually a fantastic 2 hour episode of Quantum Leap, rather than Groundhog Day. As a nerd service, Scott Bakula has a voiceover cameo and even gets to utter the timeless “Oh boy.”
I highly recommend this movie. It’s a great follow up for director Duncan Jones who also directed the fantastic “Moon.” Source Code borders on a studio movie with its one-liner comedy at times but is a great thrill ride with heart.
Source Code gets a B+
First of all, girls are clever. Secondly, admit it, you have a huge Gyllenhaal crush too!