Reviewed by Alicia Glass

Studio:SummitEntertainment

MPAA Rating: PG 13

Director: Duncan Jones

Review Rating: 8 Train Explosions

Sergeant Stevens is a helicopter pilot who finds himself in the unenviable position of having to stop a bombing attack on aChicagocommuter train.

That hardly does justice to the movie, which is actually a very smart bit of storytelling. A lot like Quantum Leap, which you’ll have to forgive me but I enjoyed very much, Source Code tells the story of some interesting computer program that allows Stevens to travel to an alternate universe on the same Chicago train that in his world has been already blown up, to discover who is the bomber before he strikes again! I know it’s a little convoluted, but at least the film jumps right into the plot from the very first get-go, and explains it pretty good too, without making the Sci-Fi fans feel like they’re five.

So Stevens “wakes up” on the train, to find himself in the body of some academics professor, talking to the lovely love interest across the way on the train, Michelle Monaghan as Christine Warren. Surrounded by potential bombers, Stevens has approximately eight minutes to make his rounds, figure out whodunit, and get as much information out of them as possible before the train goes BOOM! Stevens makes a lot of mistakes, but like anything you do repeatedly, every times he dies and gets returned to the damnable train, he learns and applies the knowledge. Vera Farmiga stars as Colleen Goodwin, the contact soldier who talks Stevens through it when he’s in the “real world”, and she brings across a very fine if restrained emotionally performance. Jeffrey Wright stars as Dr. Rutledge, creator and promoter of the Source Code program, and despite the grandfatherly manner and appearance, he does turn out to be pretty much a bastard. Michael Arden star as Derek Frost, suspected bad guy bomber and all around nutjob! And main, we have Jake Gyllenhaal as Colter Stevens himself, all passion and dark confusion, very reminiscent of Donnie Darko, and now that I think about it, the plots for both movies are a little similar too – it was a great choice on the part of those casting.

I’d like to say more about the movie, but that would honestly give it away, and Source Code holds enough surprises that I really want you folks to go see it and enjoy them without spoilers! Source Code gets a rating of 8 Train Explosions, because even if you have to do it over and over, one movie finally got it right!

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NkTrG-gpIzE]