'Source Code'

'Source Code' (PG-13) (3 stars)

Writer: Ben Ripley
Director: Duncan Jones
Starring: Jake Gyllenhaal, Michelle Monaghan, Vera Farmiga, Jeffrey Wright,
Michael Arden

"Source Code" is a super fast science fiction thriller that never catches it's breath. So even if the movie's plot was lame you couldn't figure that out before it was over. Actually the plot of "Source Code" made sense to me, I had fun. The movie stars Jake Gyllenhaal, who I like a lot, as Colter who finds himself on a Chicago commuter train. He is sitting with a woman he doesn't know but she sure seems to know him. He also looks in the mirror and sees someone else's face. Okay, that would freak me out too and Colter also finds out the train has a bomb on it. That is all I should tell you because the real fun of this movie is seeing the surprises come.

Colter has to find the bomb or the bomber so he can stop him before he sets the bomb. The movie also takes time during the rush of the train to stop and set up a neat love story that is so much better than the science fiction weakling "The Adjustment Bureau". The extremely cute Michelle Monaghan plays the woman Christina and her chemistry with Gyllenhaal is electric. There is also one of my favorite actresses Vera Farmiga who is really sexy but shows she can act playing a straight laced Army woman here. Also the very talented character actor Jeffrey Wright is funny here as a Doctor who tries to explain what is going on and doesn't quite get the job done.

The movie is written by Ben Ripley and he has quite a future as a writer of science fiction movies and thrillers. There is no excess fat, the story is lean and doesn't stop to explain the plot too deeply so you can keep guessing. The movie is pretty much an 8 minute segment repeated and twisted and turned. We try to piece the puzzle together with Colter and have a lot of fun with it. There are beautiful shots of the city of Chicago and the movie always moves fast. The director Duncan Jones, David Bowie's son, is a director I want to see more of. He made the smart and fine science fiction movie "Moon" that was so delightfully complicated I wanted to see it again. I want to go back and see "Source Code" again to see if it holds up and that is why the movie works.