Movie Review: Source Code

I need to preface this with two personal facts:

1. I LOVE Jake Gyllenhall movies. Always have, ever since Donnie Darko, and yes, including Prince of Persia.
2. The only movies I love more are Sci-Fi movies, in particular ones that make you think.

Luckily, Source Code fits both these categories. Originally, when I first saw the trailer, I thought it was going to be very much like Deja Vu without Val Kilmer, and it is, to a degree. It's a very similar style of movie: The protagonist is thrown into a situation with ludicroulsy advanced technology, and risks everything to save a girl, but that's where the similarities end.
In my personal opinion, Deja Vu had a lot more twists to it, whereas Source Code has a few moments that are more 'eye-openers' than they are shocks. Things fall into place, and make sense, and it forces you to look at the situation and think 'What would I do?' That message is probably the major theme that stuck with me even hours after walking out of the cinema.

It'd be remiss of me to talk about the movie without mentioning the script. It's well written, thought provoking, and carries the story brilliantly. Every actor (Including a pretty decent cameo by Russell Peters) delivers their lines well, and their conviction seems to draw you in deeper and deeper. My only gripe with the entire movie is that Jeffrey Wright's accent seems forced, out of place, and difficult to follow sometimes, almost as if he's impersonating a young Morgan Freeman (not Easy Reader young, but young-er). Having seen him in the two latest Bond films, as well as alongside Denzel Washington in The Manchurian Candidate remake, I can't honestly say that he pulled it off, and it seemed to detract more than add to the story.

There's also been a trend lately that movies have to have a solid, underlying colour, and I was relieved that Source Code bucked this trend. Visually, it's beautiful. Chicago, while barely seen, is a stunning city, and the shots of the Cloud Gate in Millenium Park are perfectly shot. I wouldn't expect much less from Duncan Jones, especially after seeing his skills in 2009's Moon, and his experience shooting solo actors in cold, tight conditions definitely helped here.

I also think it's a breakthrough for the writer, Ben Ripley. I'd never heard of him (i had to check his IMDb page), although I had seen the two Species movies he'd previously written (regretfully), but the overall storyline here shows talent, and I look forward to more of his work.

I'm not big on 'rating' movies on a scale. What I will say, is that I thouroughly enjoyed Source Code. I wouldn't go see it again at the cinemas, but I would definitely buy it when it's released (and I'll probably go for the Blu-Ray). If you're a fan of movies that make you think, or hell, even if you just want to perve on Gyllenhall for an hour and a half, go see it. I'm glad I did.