3 stars (out of 5)
Director: Duncan Jones
Cast: Jake Gyllenhaal, Michelle Monaghan, Vera Farmiga, Jeffrey Wright, Michael Arden
Rating: (M)
Source Code (Rialto and Hoyts) starts with the far-out science fiction idea that a shadowy government agency has developed the technology to connect an operative to a dead person's still-firing synapses and can then get said operative to endlessly relive the last eight minutes of the dead person's life. Before you ask why, there is a practical application - namely crime-solving.
After a bomb destroys a train-killing everyone on board, the fastest way to discover the bomber's identity before he sets off more bombs is to flash air force helicopter pilot Colter Stevens (Jake Gyllenhaal) into the last memories of mild-mannered teacher Sean Fentress.
The endless repetition of the train journey quickly becomes tiresome so personal complications are injected into the storyline.
Colter soon develops feelings for Christina (Michelle Monaghan) Sean's commuter-travel buddy. He also cannot remember how he got from his second tour of duty in Afghanistan to this strange new assignment and why no-one will let him phone his dad.
It sort of works until they run out of puff and decide to end with an old science fiction chestnut, which just made me mad.
Best thing: This is not science fiction that is in love with how groovy the gadgets are. In fact the most loving photography is saved for aerial shots of Chicago, which looks like a colder Miami.
Worst thing: When you have Vera Farmiga and Jeffrey Wright in your cast you should do more with them. Wright is brilliant as the icy project director Dr Rutledge but he only gets to lurk on the edge of the story. A real disappointment.
See it with: Your brain in neutral, that way you can ignore the plot not stacking up and just enjoy the explosions.
- Christine Powley
