Source Code

This movie is basically Groundhog Day meets Quantum Leap, with a dash of The 6th Sense. But, unoriginality aside (maybe it has some homage factor, but, didn't really sense a tongue-in-cheek-ness to the most obvious scenes) I really liked it. And usually I am not even a fan of the quantum time-stream new reality theory motivated endings (Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey, Back to the Future 2, Deja Vu) but for some reason I still really liked the movie even though it has a very "wish upon a star" ending.

Spoiler alert by the way.

But, I think the themes of redemption come in loud and clear through the voice of Cpt. Colter Stevens (Jake Gyllenhall, Donny Darko) who thematically asks "if you had a minute to live how would you use it." and routinely seeks validation and displays his flaws and needs. Which is good because he is a demonstrative MacGuyver type, who could easily come off as untouchable.

But he is confused and constrained throughout the movie. I have actually hated Gyllenhall in some of the other movies he's done, but, I think he pulls this off very well, and like most sci-fi scripts, there is a huge suspense-of-realism required. You have to give yourself to this one, or you won't like it. And in the end, there is a restoration of reailty that is very cathartic, and very satisfying. There is a clear distinction of rightness and wrongness, and yet the movie is able to go into ethical grey matters, as well, wrestling with the value of human life, the authenticity of human life, and the moral obligation of the individual to society vs. the priority of choice in moral individuality.

And a train blows up about a dozen times, and the effects are actually quite good, they never snap you out of the movies projection of reality, so there's some good eye-candy. The supporting cast is underplayed, I'm a big Vera Farmiga (Running Scared) fan, she comes off fairly flat and unappealing, even though her character, Cpt. Goodwin, wrestles the most tension at the end. There just weren't any other dimensions to any of the other characters, and so Cpt. Stevens is the only person we care about. Even the bad guy is pretty tame, underwhelming, and not very fun to hate.

All things considered, I give this a 2, but I would only want to watch it again with people that hadn't seen it yet.