Taking a Quantum Leap type of idea, turning it into a feature film, and mixing in a few unexpected twists, Source Code follows a US Army helicopter pilot who’s tasked with investigating the bombing of a passenger trainer, in a rather unique and unusual way.
Colter Stevens (Jake Gyllenhaal, Prince of Persia) wakes up on the train, facing a mirror image that is not his own, and a woman (Michelle Monaghan, Eagle Eye) who knows him as someone else, until the train explodes, everyone dies, and he wakes up again in a strange pod, connected to military officials via video-link; who explain that while he’s suffering from partial amnesia, he actually volunteered for this assignment, and is traveling back in time to inhabit the body of a dead man, for the last eight minutes of his life, in the hopes of investigating the incident, and finding out who bombed the train.
Apparently there’s a limited number of times Colter can go back to the train (though the military people; played by The Departed’s Vera Farmiga, and Quantum of Solace’s Jeffrey Wright; are decidedly cagey about exactly how the whole thing works), but we spend the rest of the film’s runtime watching as Mr. Stevens goes back again, and again, and again; replaying the same events in a slightly different manner; hoping to discover who bombed the train, and thwart a larger attack they believe is planned for later the same day.
It’s an intriguing concept, and one that’s very easy to get behind; it’s also made all the more interesting (which, lets face it, it needed to be; since we’ve already seen countless time-travel movies about trying to change the past or the future) by having Colter not know what’s going on, what the cubicle is, and why the military staff are hiding things from him; and even though by the end you’ll have seen the twist ending coming for quite sometime, it’s still a surprising shock to see the big reveal, and work out if he’s going to be able to stop the bombing, and save the girl (who he unsurprisingly takes a bit of a shine to); something the military bods state is categorically impossible.
Jake Gyllenhaal was perfectly placed as the fish-out-of-water hero, and remains believable and easy to watch as he’s struggling to both find out who bombed the train, and what’s really going on in the real world, while also getting to know the girl; a fairly generic character who adds little to the film except providing a pretty face for Colter to swoon over (though she’s given an air of personality, and infused with a real sense of character thanks to her portrayal by Michelle Monaghan); and though they’re not exactly stand-out performances, both Vera Farmiga and Jeffrey Wright handle their parts well enough as well; being both as quietly sad, and heartlessly clinical, as they need to.
As the action takes places almost entirely in two locations (the train and the present) it’d be easy for Source Code to start looking stale pretty quickly; especially seen as how the entire movie is basically playing out the same eight minutes over and over again; yet thankfully, with Moon director Duncan Jones behind the camera (a man who’s already proved, with that claustrophobic, film he’s capable of making a small setting watchable for a film’s entire runtime) it never grows dull, always looks fresh and original, and somehow never really seems to be treading the same ground (an impressive feat, and one deserving of praise).
For anyone who enjoys a good time travel tale you could do a lot worse than Source Code; a film that manages to cover issues of death, time travel, terrorism, love, and inter-dimensional relativity, in less than two hours; providing a fun watch that never grows dull, gives the casual viewer a decent ride, and those who prefer a little bit of thinking something to get their teeth stuck into (by the finale). It’s peppered with solid performances, and though it is a lot like a Quantum Leap movie (with a few added modifications to the format), Source Code is a thoroughly entertaining watch that should be enjoyed by most viewers.
Picture:
Source Code comes to DVD via a visually stunning transfer that, while mostly taking place in rather drab interiors, is populated with great colour and contrast (nicely balanced from the tepid backgrounds with a few exterior shots, and brighter elements of clothing), contains some very strong fine detail, and some naturalistic (though just a shade to the warm end of scale) fleshtones, that all ensure anyone watching the film will not be disappointed with the visuals.
Audio:
Coming to DVD via Dolby Digital 5.1 track, Source Code’s audio mix is also suitably strong, and at its peak during the various explosions of the train; where the impressive bass is amazingly forceful, and the surround channels become even more active than they are during the rest of the movie (where they also provide a decent amount of ambience); but the film’s dialogue (the main element of the track) is also extremely well reproduced, and always remains clear and well placed; creating a track that’s not the most memorable, but is certainly efficient, suitably engrossing, and, when it counts, pretty forceful.
Extras:
Where the Source Code DVD does slip however is in its selection of special features; as while a making-of featurette would have been the perfect addition to a movie such as this, we’re left simply with an audio commentary (one that is nevertheless informative, discusses everything from the plot, and filming, to the effects work, but will still likely be skipped by most casual viewers as it’s nothing too engaging), a few basic, yet still engaging, featurettes (including cast and crew insights, and focal points), the film’s trailer, and a couple of rather dull and misplaced Picture-in-Picture tracks (which will likely work much better as a comprehensive track on the Blu-ray edition of the film); creating a wide enough, yet far from spectacular, collection of bonus features that provide the true fan with little background information, and the casual viewer with more extras to skip.
The Bottom Line:
In the end Source Code delivers what it promised; a fun time travel flick with exploding trains and a terrorism plot; but also delivers a great deal more than that; having a great twist, and deeper themes, which ensure it’s a film you’ll be talking about (and in some cases trying to work out) for some time after watching.
Duncan Jones’ direction is great, the actors deliver solid performances, and the DVD itself holds up pretty well; with great picture and audio quality, and an adequate selection of special features; meaning that if you like a good film, with a good story, plenty of action, tension, a bit of mystery, and a surprising twist, Source Code is the film for you; a modern-day Quantum Leap that just begging to be watched again and again.
