Film Review: ‘Source Code’ Is One of Best Films of 2011 So Far

I was excited to see Source Code for two reasons: 1. I heard the script was very good. 2. Duncan Jones is the director. It was hard for me not to have high expectations for the film despite the somewhat lackluster trailer. It is very rare when my high expectations are met. Source Code is one of the best movies to come out in 2011 so far.

Source Code is a sci-fi thriller that doesn’t seem all too sci-fi. It stars Jake Gyllenhaal as Capt. Colter Stevens. Stevens is a soldier working for an experiment called “Source Code.” In “Source Code,” a person can relive the last 8 minutes of another person’s life. In this case, Stevens must relive the last 8 minutes of a man who was on the bombed train, in order to find the bomber and stop him from doing another attack.

With Source Code, the less you know of the movie beforehand the better. From the trailer, I had a vague understanding of the movie. Because I didn’t know too much about it, I found the movie to be entirely interesting. The entire concept of the source code is complex, but the writer and Jones simplified it enough for us to understand it, while not dumbing it down too much where I feel insulted or question the sophistication of the program. In fact, hours later I’m still thinking about how it works if implemented in my own life.

Acting-wise, I was impressed with Jake Gyllenhaal. 2010 wasn’t a good year for him (No one wants to be reminded of Prince of Persia), and I’m happy to see him comeback with such a great movie. He did a great job carrying this film. Hands down, this is one of my favorite movies he’s ever done. Michelle Monaghan did well too; there wasn’t much other purpose to her role besides “love interest.” Can I give a shout-out to Vera Farmiga? Because she’s awesome! Farmiga is one of my favorite actresses at the moment. She played a great character in this movie. Finally, kudos to Jeffrey Wright for playing a type of character I wouldn’t usually expect from him.

I love and want to thank Duncan Jones just for those beautiful opening and ending shots of Chicago. You definitely want to check out Chicago after seeing this film. I was so tempted to take a walk to Cloud Gate, aka the Bean, after the movie. I get it though if you don’t want to ride the Metra train. I don’t either after seeing it.

There’s a quite a few movies coming out this weekend, but I think the best of them is Source Code. Definitely check it out this weekend, I guarantee you’ll enjoy it.

Source Code comes out in theaters Friday, April 1^st.

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