Rating of
3/4
"Source Code" by Yojimbo
Yojimbo - wrote on 01/29/13
An ex-army pilot finds himself living another man's life and discovers that he is operating within a secret government project where they send a person's consciousness back in time to discover terrorist threats. Duncan Jones' follow up to the pleasingly old school sci-fi Moon is a variation on the idea behind La Jetee, the short that inspired Twelve Monkeys. Basically it's Groundhog Day done as thriller instead of comedy as Jake Gyllenhaal lives the same eight minutes of a commuter's life over and over until he discovers the identity of the bomber who blew up the train he was travelling on. The concept will be familiar to those old enough to remember 90s tea-time sci fi show Quantum Leap and it also shares ingredients with films such as Robocop and Total Recall. To be honest, take away the sci-fi twist and it's executed very like many other Hollywood action thrillers but it has enough invention and charm to raise it above its main competition (namely Next and Deja Vu) thanks to some likeable characters and interesting visuals. It feels a lot more run of the mill and predictable than Moon but anyone who found Inception a little too dense for their taste, it's a more easily digestible, bite-size alternative.
