It seems that since the debut of the movie Inception, mind-fuck blockbuster movies have been coming to our cinemas one by one... I think that this is a sign that the directors and producers are no longer underestimating our (viewers') intelligence and that is indeed a good thing... We cannot just have slapsticks and romance all the time... Modern viewers want something more... Something challenging and open for debate...

Here we have  another mind-fuck movie - Source Code starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Michelle Monaghan and Vera Farmiga... It was directed by Duncan Jones... If u have watched the sci-fi movie Moon, which had won Duncan Jones recognition as a sci-fi master, then u'll surely have ur hopes high on this one... 

If u've been reading my previous entries, then u would know that Source Code is one of my anticipated April movies besides Limitless and Thor... I've been interested on it since I first watch its trailer last year after reading this entry from a blog... Lets see whether this movie was worth the wait or not...

When decorated soldier Captain Colter Stevens (Jake Gyllenhaal) wakes up in the body of an unknown man, he discovers he's part of a mission to find the bomber of a Chicago commuter train... In an assignment unlike any he's ever known, he learns he's part of a government experiment called the "Source Code," a program that enables him to cross over into another man's identity in the last 8 minutes of his life... With a second, much larger target threatening to kill millions in downtown Chicago, Colter re-lives the incident over and over again, gathering clues each time, until he can solve the mystery of who is behind the bombs and prevent the next attack... 

The Story

Don't tell me you're not interested to see the movie after seeing the trailers or reading the synopsis... Try to put yourself into the story... If you're Captain Stevens and you woke one day to find yourself being in someone else's body in a moving train with a mission to conduct... You have only 8 minutes to fulfill your task or else, you'll die with the rest of the passengers because of a bomb (possibly nuclear) explosion and have to go through the same deal over and over again until you succeed... Now tell me, how on earth is THAT not interesting to you?

The story was focused solely on how Captain Stevens got everything figured out from his first "simulation" to the last one... During the first, he awoke being disoriented, confused and panic... Then, on the second trip, he woke up again thinking that the alternate 8 minutes reality was a realistic army simulation on combating terrorism and figured out about his mission... From there, he gathered all information and put every piece of the puzzle back together through try-and-error to solve the biggest mystery... However, at the middle of it, Stevens did derail from the mission a bit by trying to find out what happened to him in real life... 

It makes me wonder, did the producers came up with the story and concept on their own or it is based on a real scientific research by the US government? They are dealing with neurons and brain functions and a bit of time travel and dimension alteration here... They couldn't possibly just get the idea by brainstorming while having coffee at a round meeting table... Hmmm...

Jake Gyllenhaal

I fell in love (with a manly kind of manner) with this guy after watching him in the movie Love & Other Drugs because he's really a good and charming actor... What I love the most about him is his smile...

Okey, that was a bit gay of me... but seriously, that smile is charming... Anyway, Jake really put on a great performance too in this one... Who knew the guy from Bubble Boy (2001) could turn out to be such a great thriller actor... He managed to get me sympathize over the fate of Captain Stevens - dead and still being used like a tool for the army... Not to mention, the full of emotions performance when Stevens called his dad during the last "simulation"... Besides that, he was also quite successful in portraying confusion which is one of the focus in this movie...

Vera Farmiga

I recognized her as Alex in Up in the Air (2009) and also the mother in the psycho thriller, Orphan (2009)... U might not notice it in Source Code but she was damn hot in Up in the Air... But I'm not favoring her because of her hotness here... I would rather stress on how convincing she was as Colleen Goodwin, a sympathetic military officer who was such a great assistant to Captain Stevens in the Source Code Project in the movie...  

Michelle Monaghan

I got to say, choosing Michelle Monaghan as the love interest (Christina Warren) was really wise because she was really sweet... Dont u agree?

The Questions

Like most sci-fi and mind-fuck movies, Source Code raised up too many questions and not so many answers... I mean, a simpleton like me had a bit of a problem catching up with the scientific explanation... I guess this applies also to Sucker Punch (2011)... 

Luckily, the plot was engaging enough to keep me interested and enjoyed every bit of the movie... Even when I didn't have the full grasp of the idea, I found myself being so attached to the story because it's really unexpected and a bit charming in the lovey dovey part... 

 The Ending

Like a said before, I'm quite a simpleton... Damnit... An Alternate world?? You gotta be kidding me... Now, I'm left wondering, how on earth is Captain Stevens going to live as Sean Fentress? Stevens is a helicopter pilot while Fentress is a school teacher... and what about Fentress' family and friends? Shishh... 

I would prefer that the movie ends when Stevens kissed Christina and everything went into a freeze... For me, that is a happy ending for Stevens... He finished the job, delivered his personal mission, and died in peace... Less complicated, fulfilling for me...

Though some might disagree... Right Mamu? 

If you're interested to watch it but afraid that you would get lost in all of the confusion, no need to worry because the engaging plot would keep you interested enough to stay put in your seat... Just go watch it...

3.5 out 5 stars...