The Source Moon...I mean Code

I saw The Source Code today, in an empty theatre… for $4. It’s weird, if there were a $4 theatre showing current movies in LA, you couldn’t get a ticket. In Cleveland, well, the theatre may start sending a car to my door.

I was chatting with my sister at home after the film describing it for her and I said something to the affect of, “Well, did you see Moon with Sam Rockwell? It was kinda like Moon, but on a train”. She quickly responded, “Didn’t the guy who directed Moon make The Source Code?

(I guess I’m not much of a film buff).

She was indeed correct…but so was I. Duncan Jones (who also happens to be David Bowies son) directed both The Source Code (2011) and Moon (2009). To say that The Source Code is “Moon on a train” is in no way a detriment to either film. While its unfortunate that Moon fell under the radar it doesn’t seem The Source Code has had the same fate, and for good reason. Where Moon may have lacked in appeal to a wide audience, not because it wasn’t an excellent film, but because it was small, ($5 million) it was British, it was a first time director, and it was a film that was meant to be watched as opposed to experienced, The Source Code makes up for it in tenacity, relevance, and, dare I say, sexiness?

The plot puts Jake Gyllenhaal on the Chicago Commuter Rail on an early spring morning. The train explodes, thanks to a terrorists bomb, but instead of being thrust into the afterlife, Sean, as he’s known on the train, and Captain Colter Stevens as he’s know elsewhere, is thrust back into a spaceship? A helicopter? Another dimension?  One thing is clear, his mission: find the bomber and prevent the next terrorist attack. The catch, he only has 8 minute periods of time, to go back into time, before the backlogged time catches up with real time, cause well, you know, that’s how the source code works.

Some of the logic behind The Source Code is a little tricky, but what movie doesn’t have tricky logic? Hindsight is 20/20 as they say, but you shouldn’t let that bother you too much here. The Source Code was enjoyable, moved along at a swift pace, possesses an undeniable likeability between the two stars, and as any good film will do, leaves you wondering…”what if”?

And you should rent "Moon".