no-one can be myself like i am

Source Code (12A)

8 / 10

Director: Duncan Jones
Starring: Jake Gyllenhall, Michelle Monaghan, Vera Farmiga

Colter Stevens (Jake Gyllenhall) is a soldier whose last memory was of flying a helicopter in Afghanistan. On awakening, he finds himself on a crowded Chicago commuter train inside another man's body. Eight minutes later the train explodes and Stevens wakes up in a dark room, and is forced to repeat his eight minute mission until he discovers the identity of the train bomber...

Source Code is the new film from Duncan Jones, the director behind the excellent Moon and is another intriguing, alternate reality sci-fi thriller. The story's premise - that the Source Code computer allows Stevens the possibility of going into another person's body for the last eight minutes of their life - is an interesting one, and for an hour the film plays out a sort of modern Groundhog Day as the soldier tries to uncover the identity of the bomber.

Having done this, however, Source Code then leaps into a subplot about the nature of the computer program itself which, whilst interesting, would have been better explored in tandem with the main 'plot' of the film. Saying all that, it's nicely cast, pacy and interesting, and despite you having to drawn your own conclusions as to what happens at the end - it's a sci-fi film without much scientific explanation - it's a pretty satisfying watch (even if it doesn't stand up to a terrible amount of scrutiny).

I'm not the world's biggest Jake Gyllenhall fan but I liked him in this movie, and I also had a lot of time for love interest Michelle Monaghan and the excellent Vera Farmiga who has a smile that could melt the coldest heart at twenty paces.

As silly bid budget Hollywood thrillers go, Source Code is right up there with the best. A thoroughly enjoyable ride.