Movie Review: The Source Code

I really dislike the name of this movie. The trailers intrigued me, but the title is rubbish.



As you can see from the trailer, there's a program called "The Source Code". Source code is what you write to make a program, not the name of the program. Not unless it's a compiler or something. I suppose you could get existential and say that in this case The Source Code refers to how the program lets you examine the source code of the universe or of the people on the train or something. Nah, even that's pretty weak.

So Jake Gyllenhaal wakes up in a body that isn't his on a train heading into Chicago. Eight minutes later the train blows up. He wakes up again in a harness inside a capsule. The last thing he remembers before the train is being with his unit in Afghanistan. On a computer screen is a woman being rather rude to him. But she does tell him that she's sending him back on to the train and that he needs to find the bomb.

At this point he still thinks this is some military training simulation. He treats people like they're simulations. But he finds the bomb. And it blows up.

Things are revealed over the course of the movie. Some of it is what's happened on the train. Some of it is about Program: Source Code.

See, the train was the first of what is expected to be a series of terrorist attacks. Jake has to find out who blew up the train before they sets off more bombs downtown. The program can send him into ghost images of the last eight minutes of the lives of dead people. Or maybe it's time travel. Jake and the scientists have differing opinions on that subject.

I know, the trailer told you as much. That makes an interesting movie in and of itself, but there's more that the trailer doesn't cover and neither will I. But I will tell you that it's the kind of movie that you want to see it with friends so you can talk about it afterward.

I will not get this on DVD, but I am glad that I saw it.