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Bookmark this pageSource Code (2011)
Director: Duncan Jones
Synopsis
Duncan Jones, writer-director of cult hit 'Moon', returns with a slick time/body switching thriller starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Michelle Monaghan.
Movie review
From Time Out London
Based on a hardcore sci-fi premise, but staged with a Hitchcockian lightness that injects romance and humour into a potentially bleak terrorist bomb scenario, this second film from the director of ‘Moon’ is an emotionally engaging time-travel puzzle piece. It may not be ‘Un film de Duncan Jones’, but it is an efficient, entertaining thriller that features several striking signature sequences and some smart conceptual ideas.Jake Gyllenhaal is edgy and engaging as confused Blackhawk helicopter pilot Captain Colter Stevens, who wakes up on a Chicago commuter train with no clue how he got there or what his ‘mission’ is. The attractive woman seated opposite, Christina (Michelle Monaghan), seems to think he’s a school teacher called Sean, and the face reflected in the train window is not his. Suddenly, an explosion rips through the train, and Colter finds himself in what may be the cockpit of his crashed chopper. Via a video screen, uniformed military ‘minder’ Goodwin (Vera Farmiga) explains that Colter is part of an experimental project, which allows access to a parallel reality for eight minutes at a time. And he has to keep going back in – not to stop the explosion, which has already happened, but to identify the terrorist on the train, who has also planted a ‘dirty bomb’ in the city.
Rather than get bogged down in the scientific explanations, Ben Ripley’s intricate script and Jones’s brisk direction invite us to climb aboard and enjoy the ride. But if you want to dig deeper, there is some serious stuff about a guy lost in fragments of time, groping towards a sense of his own identity. There’s also an involving emotional undertow, thanks to Colter’s fragmented romance with Monaghan’s loveable teacher-next-door and the burgeoning human connection between Farmiga’s delicately nuanced ‘minder’ and Gyllenhaal’s angry yet vulnerable guinea pig.
Author: Nigel Floyd
Time Out London Issue 2119: March 31 – April 6, 2011
User reviews of this film
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- Fran said...
- Posted on May 28 2011 10:29 For my money, a gripping thriller with an excellent performance from Jake Gyllenhaal - all eyes, military training and edginess. Michelle Monaghan also great, and the chemistry between the two leads kept me hanging in through all the repeats. I did find the Vera Farmiga role a bit unrealistic - lots of close-ups of facial emoting, meant to signal to the audience her inner conflict, yawn. And of course the basic sci fi premise isn't logical - but I've seen a lot worse movies in the last couple of years that pretended to be deep and significant. This movie focuses on the action and it delivers. From the opening shots it had confidence and direction - well worth the watch.
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- chris jackson said...
- Posted on May 23 2011 15:01 good but not as good as moon.
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- Raghu said...
- Posted on May 04 2011 12:10 Trailer of this movie is promising and pulse raising,but actual movie didnt live upto expectations..just ok kind of movie..
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- sami said...
- Posted on Apr 27 2011 17:46 its a good film soo far.
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- Paul said...
- Posted on Apr 23 2011 14:14 Good enough to pass the time making a racket eating popcorn and playing with your phone
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- Robert Thornton said...
- Posted on Apr 19 2011 23:01 Groundhog Day meets Heroes (series 1). OK entertainment but hardly anything special. Guardian critics kept refering to Hitchcock, other than being a thriller where's his influence in this film? Typical American Smaltzy ending rather ruined the plot.
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- critique said...
- Posted on Apr 18 2011 13:55 Efficient sci-fi thriller.
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- Maxbax said...
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Posted on Apr 15 2011 16:57
Seen much worse , loved the panoramics & city overheads . Contrast with our heroes world , or saying "you've come far enough"? . Bit of a , not you again feeling whenever reunited with the love interest , for me.
I could'nt square with the hard nosed merciless attitude of national security & the mushy farce into which we were dumped . In all , more likes than dislikes . - Report as inappropriate
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- scrumpyjack said...
- Posted on Apr 13 2011 23:08 2nd best film so far this year
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- TRUTHTELLER. said...
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Posted on Apr 11 2011 09:10
This is a very entertaining movie if you buy the premise . Why not? It's fun and enjoyable.
It is somewhat similar indeed to the TV show Quantum Leap-the hero somehow leaps into someone else's body in a different time period. Since he keeps repeating the experience there are also elements of Ground Hog Day.
In this one the US Air Force has a method of projecting the hero into another body in a parallel universe/world.
The purpose is to prevent a disastrous event in the future.
It's not an original idea but it's rather well done with excellent acting, direction, and I especially like the tight writing. - Report as inappropriate
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- Lawfy said...
- Posted on Apr 09 2011 13:03 Superior sci-fi flick. The premise isn't particularly groundbreaking but the film's intelligent, emotionally engaging and well-cast. I was cautious about seeing it as I hadn't enjoyed Moon.
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- ed said...
- Posted on Apr 07 2011 11:30 forgot my stars
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- ed said...
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Posted on Apr 07 2011 11:29
Like Moon, this is gripping, gradually revealing it's twists and turns as the plot unfolds... Unlike the "TA-DA!!" methods in SIXTH SENSE / USUAL SUSPECTS. This flick wears it's influences on it's sleeve, and Colter Stevens is in a very similar bind to Moon's SAM BELL. So the same ideas are being explored again. On the action front it's pretty good and gripping but it feels like a small scale (but better) version of DEJA VU or a grown up version of QUANTUM LEAP... Think of Vera Farmiga as Dean Stockwell's Al.... (imagine where QL's Sam Beckett really is>>!)
So not wholly original like MOON. But it does seem like concessions have been made to take the "hard" out of the Sci-Fi...
A thoughtful thriller... The emotion got through... - Report as inappropriate
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- Mike said...
- Posted on Apr 06 2011 23:19 As I was with "Moon", I was bored rigid with "Source Code". As is said below by other reviewers, good sci-fi this is not, and it feels like a very leaden "Groundhog Day". On the upside, some of the photograph's excellent - but that's where "excellent" ends as far as this movie's concerned. I will not see another Duncan Jones film - ever - there are more important things in life - like picking the fluff out of my navel. Two stars.
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- kAJ said...
- Posted on Apr 06 2011 01:12 very good movie. !! strongly rec.i havent seen so good movie for a long long time;)
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Cast & crew
Director: Duncan Jones
Cast: Jake Gyllenhaal, Michelle Monaghan, Vera Farmiga
Genre(s): Action/Adventure, Science Fiction, Thrillers
Rated: 12A
Duration: 93 mins
UK Release: Apr 1 2011
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