Source Code: Movie Review

Being gamers ourselves, we have always wondered when the virtual will catch up with reality. When can we experience a world so vividly recreated that you forget that you are just playing a game? The Playstation 10 maybe? if you can imagine combining 3D technology and Microsoft Kinect, that future seems not so far-fetched. Still, it is so hard to imagine that this is possible. "Source Code" is one movie who tries to tap into the idea of humans being inside a virtual world, a virtual program - the difference? It also deals with some serious scientific theories. Read on to find out if we think "Source Code" is worth your time.

Captain Cotler Stevens (Jake Gyllenhaal) wakes up inside the body of a man named Sean Fentress. He is inside a commuter train in Chicago and he is with a woman named Christina (Michelle Monaghan). Before Cotler can find out what's happening, a bomb suddenly detonates and the commuter train is completely destroyed along with Sean and Christina. Shockingly, Cotler once again awakens and finds himself inside a metal chamber. He soon finds out that what he experienced was just a simulation and that he is inside a program named Source Code. Now, Cotler must retry the simulation again and again until he finds who the bomber is. If Cotler fails, the whole city of Chicago is at risk as a second bomb, a nuclear device, is set to be detonated soon and would surely kill a lot of innocent lives.

"Source Code's" main plot is preposterous at best. On paper and even at some scenes during the film, we thought "Source Code" was bound to fail due to this setback. How can the film work when we ourselves do not believe in that what we are seeing on-screen is even possible? Miraculously, after the so-so first half, "Source Code" was able to redeem itself with a great performance from its main cast (especially Jake Gyllenhaal who totally humanizes his character in brilliant ways). If the plot of "Source Code" is preposterous, its human aspects are not. The human emotions, the connections, the reactions and the relationships within that 8-minute time frame (Jake's character has 8 minutes every simulation before the bomb detonates itself) define the greatness of "Source Code". Ironic that this all happens in a program designed to repeat itself over and over again until the user is satisfied. Still, in the end, we are grateful that we had the patience to withhold any feelings of leaving the cinema the first hour or so as the ending was well-worth the wait.

Rating: 4 reels





Why you should watch it:
- a thrilling movie with a scientific twist that works
- props to the main cast as they carried the film up the ratings scale

Why you shouldn't watch it:
- the film ties off everything too fast in the end
- somewhat predictable in some key areas
- a preposterous plot may turn some people off