SOURCE CODE

Jake Gyllenhaal

SOURCE CODE (2011). Director: Duncan Jones.

An agent named Colter Stevens (Jake Gyllenhaal) discovers that he is in some kind of containment chamber, and that his mind is being sent back in time again and again to find out who planted a bomb on a Chicago train that exploded, an event that already occurred. Other events have been threatened and time is running out, so Stevens has been part of an experiment in "time reassignment" which sends him to a parallel time -- or something like that. Although Stevens has been told that everyone on the train is already dead, he's still determined to do his best to save them, especially a young woman who is the girlfriend of the man whose "body" Stevens is inhabiting each time he re-visits the train. Source Code has a lot of intriguing ideas, but it's a bit confusing, and perhaps because of this you don't really get caught up in it. You want to be moved and thrilled but you always feel at a distance. Gyllenhaal is fine, however.

Verdict: Half-baked sci fi with interesting elements and a solid lead performance. **1/2.