Source Code

A man wakes up in a different person’s body. His reflection looks different in the mirror. He has to right a wrong. Quantum Leap, no? In fact, this is a large section of the plot of Source Code, Duncan Jones’s new film. Jones’s calling card was the low budget but classy Moon. As a reward for such a promising debut he’s been handed a nice budget and Jake Gyllenhaal. In the film Gyllenhaal stars as Colter Stevens, a military helicopter pilot, who suddenly finds himself awake in the body of a commuter on a passenger train which soon enough blows up taking Stevens and everyone else with it. Without revealing too much of the plot, Stevens soon finds himself back in the same position time and time again, eventually attempting to stop the bombing. When he starts to unravel the mystery as to what is actually going on, its all pretty preposterous. This doesn’t make it a bad film, of course, but Jones’s makes the mistake of dropping Stevens investigation and concentrating more on trying to explain the unexplainable. Moon eventually revealed itself to be an analysis of the human condition and half-way through Source Code writer Ben Ripley takes the same approach. It doesn’t work though and the rhythm of the film is upset from that point onwards and the script begins to trip over itself until the disappointing and baffling ending. If there had been more of an emphasis on Stevens amateur sleuthing and who-dunnit side of things, this could have been a neat little thriller. As it is, it’s too disjointed and the loss of Clint Mansell from scoring duties is a real shame. The highlight of the film is Gyllenhall himself, effortlessly taking leading man duties in his stride these days. Decent, if limited, support comes from Michelle Monaghan, Vera Farmiga and Jeffrey Wright, but not even this collection of decent actors and actresses can polish this up to be something better than it actually is. Finally, there is a nod to Quantum Leap, but you’ll need sharp ears to hear it.

The OC Film Sting Final Verdict
A tricky second assignment for Jones. This isn’t the best, but it’s just about passable. Better surely awaits though. Rating: 5/10.