Ok, I haven't done one of these in a while, have to get warmed up. (Stretching of fingers and critiquing skills commences). Now I'm ready. Going into this film I had high expectations. This film received critical praise from reviews and also made profit at the box office, but I don't care about any of that. My biggest concern was the director, Duncan Jones. Before Source Code, Jones has directed only one other film, but it is one of my favorite films of all time, Moon starring Sam Rockwell. After learning that Jones was directing this, I knew I had to see this film. Would Source code live up to its predecessor? (predecessor as in Jones' first master piece).
Sadly, it does not. It is not a bad film, I did enjoy watching it. The idea of sending someone back in time over and over again to find a killer is a cool concept. It reminds me of the film Deja Vu starring Denzel Washington. I also like films that repeat themselves in a way, like the films Run Lola Run and 11:14, but this film was different, in that it was the same character going back in time, and reliving the past again and again. Sort of like Groundhogs Day. Ok, I just noticed I cited a lot of different films there, but this film is not just a cookie cutter version of those films. This film in a way is a mystery on 2 levels. The first, ** Spoilers Ahead** is finding out who planted the bomb on the train. The second is what is going on at the facility that the source code program is being run, which allows a person to travel back into someone else's memories for 8 min. In this case, Jake (not gonna try to spell his last name, lets call him Steve, his character's name), must go into the body of Sean, a school teacher who was aboard the train and died in the explosion. The process of sending him back is very secretive and not told to the audience until the very end (reminds me of the film Buried, sorry last reference) which I liked, it was like Moon in that most of the secrets aren't told till the end. Also the mystery of who the bomber was also interesting.
Time for some negatives. First, casting Steve in the main role was bad. I'm not the biggest Steve fan, and don't really like many films he has been in. Second, the plot seemed to fast. They had a great idea, sending someone back in time over and over to stop a bombing. But eventually they cut to a montage of him going back? Why? Make it so that every time he goes back he discovers some new clue that leads to solving the case. Why the montage? That just makes the film seemed rushed. Next, the idea that Steve was actually dead the whole time. Why reveal that so nonchalantly like it was nothing. It could have been a good reveal, but instead turned into somewhat of a disappointment. Lastly, then ending. What the hell was that all about? How the hell can he change the future from peoples past memories? Did he just create another new world in his own head? Or did he actually create a whole new universe? And why the happy ending? This was a film that didn't need one. Look at Moon and Buried, I love those films because they feel real, not in a reality sense, but they show the audience that life isn't always happy. Now, I'm not saying that every film should not have a happy ending, but when you have your main character be in a dark room which is essentially his death room, how can you have a happy ending? It doesn't make sense.
This film had a some good things going for it. A great director, interesting science, and a good plot device in the source. However it falls apart at the end, and could have been rewritten to be more interesting, rather than your normal American action film.
Final Grade: 6/10 Possibly even a 5/10
Great Film Aspect: Good Director
Recommendation:If you liked any of the movies I quoted from before, you will probably like this film as well.
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