BrockTalk

I'm always down for some good science-fiction, so when I found out that the new Jake Gyllenhaal flick was from the mind of writer/director Duncan Jones who was also responsible for one of my favorite sci-fi movies in recent memory, 2009's Moon, I was intrigued. Unfortunately, Source Code doesn't quite match the caliber of Moon, instead opting for something more accessible to a mass audience.

Jake Gyllenhaal is a U.S. soldier who takes over a man's body on a train that has recently exploded, and by using this man Gyllenhaal is tasked to find out the bomber's identity in hopes of preventing an assumed second attack. Source Code, is in many ways a science-fiction take on Groundhog Day, as Gyllenhaal's character only has the 8 minutes prior to the bomb going off to try and figure out who the bomber is. Once the bomb goes off the scenario has to be re-started. I won't go into the details of how the movie explains the science behind how they are able to accomplish this phenomenon, as it could possible give away some of the movie's twists. What I can tell you is that the science and plausibility of this science didn't really sell me. The logic of the characters involved kind of baffled me as well, as they wasted half of the movie trying to find the bomber ON the train, when the movie made a point many times to show you that the train stopped and let passengers off before the bomb blew. Wouldn't it make sense that the bomber would get off as well, so as not to blow himself up in the process and be able to carry out the second attack? Apparently the characters in the movie were a little slow to make this realization. However, with all of that said the movie was still a fun and entertaining ride even if there were some mis-steps in plot points. The fun of this movie is in figuring out along with Gyllenhall's character why and how he has come to be a part of this mission, and what the connotations of this information will be.

Jones second effort in the sci-fi realm isn't the stuff dreams are made of, but offers a good time at the movies nonetheless. Especially if like me, you've been yearning for a reason to go back to the movies as Hollywood did its usual trudge through the early year months. It's not perfect, but held my interest and was intriguing enough to allow for discussion of ideas and theories at its end.