Source Code - 8th January 2013

Happy New Year!

Tuesday Night is Film Night returns after the Christmas break and we start the New Year with a new (ish) film, tonight we seek the truth behind the;

Source Code

I could make this review very short and sweet, if you liked Groundhog Day and Quantum Leap, then you'll love Source Code, intrinsically it is the two stories combined.

Basically, Source Code is an action thriller where a soldier wakes up in the body of an unknown man and discovers he's part of a mission to find out who has planted a bomb on a Chicago commuter train.

Source Code is a top secret programme, where they take the last 8 minutes of someones life, which is retained in memory and with a suitable victim, replay those 8 minutes, again and again until they discover the truth.

Jake Gyllenhaal plays Captain Colter Stevens who is an Afghanistan veteran co-opted onto the Source Code programme, to infiltrate the last 8 minutes of the life of another man, who is onboard a Chicago commuter train, trying desperately to find the bomber before the bomb goes off, so 8 minutes get replayed constantly, with subtle differences each time as Captain Stevens gets close to the truth.

The Ground hog day / Quantum Leap reference is fitting, as the scenario is replayed and replayed, until such times that Colter is close to his man. And as in Quantum Leap Colter Stephens takes on the appearance of the stranger on the train.

It is really quite good, there is a lot more to it than what I describe here, but to say too much would spoil the plot and sub plots.

There was a debate about how well it ended in our household, I thought it was well done, others thought it not so good. And as long as you can get past the fantastical premise of reliving the last 8 minutes of someones life, then you will enjoy this film.

Source Code, well worth it.

8 out of 10.

See? I've started putting a rating on films, this will be a great way to close off these blogs.

Well here's to a great year of Tuesday Night is Film Night films.