Source Code (2011)

Jake Gyllenhaal stars in this science fiction action film about a man who wakes up in someone else's body on a train about to be bombed. There, that is your one sentence on what this movie is about, I don't want to say much more. I've heard it compared to a action film with Groundhog Day repetition, I didn't get that... and I don't know if that is the best thing to call it. I don't like spoiling films, especially since this is a mystery first, science fiction second, and action film third.

Jake wakes up as Colter, a friend of traveling mate Christina [Michelle Monaghan] the girl, who is a friend but you can tell there are commitment issues here. Between train bombing sequences Jake's character communicates with "Goodwin," in what is the mystery of the film. Goodwin is played by Vera Farmiga, who you would remember from  Up in the Air, and will probably wonder what she has been up to for the last two years... picking bad films to work on...

[Spoiler] I just have to say the ending sucked. I can't write this review without talking about it. It reminds me of an interview I read with Brad Pitt where he discusses how the ending of one of his early films was re-written because it "didn't test well," he decided from that point on to write in his contract that changes like this couldn't be made on film from the start. For example, the ending of Seven didn't test well, but Pitt fought to keep it how it was, thank goodness because easy happy Hollywood endings don't fit all stories. I really wonder if this was changed because it didn't test well, because it just didn't make sense and I can't see a screenplay writer that came up with this creative sci-fi plot ending it that way.

You could skip this one and wouldn't miss out on much.

Vote: 7/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0945513/

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