Source Code review

Directed by Duncan Jones 

Written by Mark Gorden

Starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Michelle Monaghan, Vera Farmiga, and Jeffrey Wright

 Once I heard that Moon director Duncan Jones was making another science fiction film I could not wait to see it. Moon was one of the best films in recent years and with him having a bigger budget, the sky is the limit for him. Then I saw the trailer and I was not that impressed with the trailer and overall kind of disappointed. From the trailer, the film looked like a poor mans Inception. Once the film came out the film got dazzling reviews so with few films out I decided to check the film out. This is what I thought.

 Source Code is about Captain Colter Stevens (Jake Gyllenhaal) a helicopter pilot who randomly wakes up on a train. He has know clue what is going on but suddenly the train blows up. He then wakes up in a dark room where Air Force officer Capt. Colleen Goodwin (Vera Farmiga) tells him about a devices called Source Code which was created by Dr. Rutledge (Jeffrey Wright). This device is being used to find whoever planted a bomb in a train that is being linked to soon to be terrorist attacks by the bomber of the train.

 As he tries to find the bomber, he starts to connect with a woman named Christina Warren (Michelle Monaghan) and find more and more information. He finds out that everyone on the train is dead so he can not possibly save her from her untimely demise. So will Colter Stevens find the terrorist and save the girl he loves or will he not find the bomber and millions of lives will be lost.

 So now time for my review. I am just going to say that Source Code in my opinion is brilliant and better then Inception which I also loved. Unlike Inception, this film has a heart and some moments that made me laugh. The first twenty minuets or so are actually pretty funny as he wonders the train cluelessly. You would never see something  like that in Inception and thats what makes it better then Inception. Source Code is so many different genres a mystery, science fiction, a romance, and a comedy.

 The best of those genres is mystery. Every single eight minuet sequence we learn something new about the train and its passengers. The film also has alot of effective red hearings some of them better then others. A few of them played into the films humor and I wont spoil them but they are funny. By the time the terrorist is announced it made alot of sense and the terrorist was a realistic option. 

 Along with the mystery element, the film has a fantastic cast lead by Mr Gyllenhaal who is turning out to be a versatile actor and to me, is the next great action star. Every film he is in, his is charismatic even if the character is not developed well like in the Prince of Persia. This film he does something I have rally seen him do, cry. Near the end of the film he lets the water works go and it is very effective. In my opinion, this is his one of him best performance of his carer and by far the best performance of the year so far.

 Also in this film are some fine performances by the rest of the actors in the film. Michelle Monaghan is fantastic as the love interest in the film. She is at her best and I can really see why Colter Stevenson would fight for her love. Along with her with about equal screen time is Oscar nominee Vera Farmiga as Goodwin the person who communicates and explains Source Code to Stevens. She is great as well as she grows and feels for the brave Stevens. Also in this film is Jeffery Wright who over acts a little bit, but does a solid job.

 So overall Source Code is the cream of the crop of 2011. Duncan Jones proves that he is not a one film wonder with this fantastic film that is better then Moon. He is now one of the premiere directors in Hollywood and hopefully the producers will give him better budgets for his film. He does a fantastic job putting this complex storyline in a brisk 96 minuets then Inception which was 140 mins long. Duncan also completes much more relatable characters who just want to know what the heck is going on.

 So with all of these fantastic qualities, I am going to give this film a 10/10. This is my favorite film of the year by far. Check it out!