When decorated airman Captain Colter Stevens (Gyllenhaal) wakes up in the body of an unknown man, he discovers he's part of a mission to find the bomber of a Chicago commuter train. In an assignment unlike any he's ever known, he learns he's part of a government experiment called the "Source Code", a program that enables him to cross over into another man's identity in the last 8 minutes of his life.
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Read the review roundup for Duncan Jones’ Moon
Reviews
The Guardian
Peter Bradshaw
“Source Code is absurd, but carries off its absurdity lightly and stylishly. It is a luxuriously enjoyable film. Jones has put himself into the front-rank of Hollywood directors, the kind who can deliver a big studio picture with brains. With twists and turns, and at breathtaking speed, this film runs on rails.”
31/03/2011
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The Independent
Anthony Quinn
“The sparky freshness and downbeat humanity of the women's performances carry the film over the line even when its final scenes wobble alarmingly. I'm not at all sure I followed the logic of its denouement, which is impossible to explain without giving away crucial parts of the plot... Source Code won't stand up to scrutiny afterwards, but while it's thundering along you are absolutely committed to the ride; also confused and unsettled, but never for a minute bored.”
01/04/2011
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Empire Magazine
Kim Newman
“This is the sort of clever-clever picture which requires multiple viewings to put all the pieces together, though it’s also got enough action (the same explosion, several times) and heart (courtesy of Monaghan and Farmiga) to make it as affecting as it is ingenious.”
01/04/2011
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Total Film
Neil Smith
“It’s a measure of Jones’ burgeoning confidence that his movie never feels beholden to any influence – not least Moon, which also dealt with existential issues of identity, mortality and isolation. Take note how impressively he handles mood, most notably in a finale that sees him deftly juggle tense confrontations, playful humour and a rueful sadness.”
22/03/2011
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The Observer
Philip French
“Screenwriter Ben Ripley's ingenious story probably has as many holes in it as a fisherman's net – though without their nets, trawlers would never bring fish back to port... Duncan Jones, who trained as a philosopher, has the intellect and the inclination to explore the implications and deeper meanings of the issues his film raises. He does it with a light though by no means frivolous touch, while never taking his foot off the accelerator.”
03/04/2011
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The Sunday Times
Cosmo Landesman
“The trick here is to stop trying to make sense of it all, sit back and enjoy the ride. And there’s so much to enjoy. There’s the sheer tension of watching Stevens try to find the terrorist, and the pleasure of trying to figure out what will happen next. Best of all, though, are the performances.”
03/04/2011
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The Independent on Sunday
Jonathon Romney
“Pros include the rattling pace, a solid Farmiga, and the reliably likeable Michelle Monaghan, although she's nowhere near as spiky as she can sometimes be. Cons include a wooden Gyllenhaal, and Jeffrey Wright going seriously overboard, playing the technocrat as God-like (or rather, Orson Welles-like) director.
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03/04/2011
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The Los Angeles Times
Kenneth Turan
“Committed to the project even before a director was selected, Gyllenhaal brings a sense of passionate belief and commitment to Stevens that "Source Code" could not succeed without. When you add in Monaghan's trademark vivacious presence, her ability to be fully alive in each and every one of those nominally repetitive moments, science-fiction romance is definitely in the air.”
01/04/2011
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The New York Times
Manohla Dargis
“Mr. Jones did lose me at the messy finish, if only on the level of logic (rarely a deal-breaker for me in science fiction), but he makes it easy to follow Stevens as he toggles between realities. Better still, he makes you want to do so. In crucial ways, “Source Code,” written by Ben Ripley, recalls “Moon,” Mr. Jones’s accomplished feature debut about a solitary astronaut played by Sam Rockwell. “Source Code” is bigger, shinier, pricier.”
31/03/2011
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The Daily Telegraph
Tim Robey
“He [Duncan Jones] takes a Hollywood gig on the twistily daft sci-fi thriller Source Code, which dabbles in a not dissimilar existential crisis. Jones’s heroes are trapped in isolation booths questioning the nature of their own reality, but this one feels more like a makeshift booby-hatch, decked out with narrative emergency exits everywhere you look.”
31/03/2011
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Time Out
Nigel Floyd
“Rather than get bogged down in the scientific explanations, Ben Ripley’s intricate script and Jones’s brisk direction invite us to climb aboard and enjoy the ride. But if you want to dig deeper, there is some serious stuff about a guy lost in fragments of time, groping towards a sense of his own identity.”
31/03/2011
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The Times
Kate Muir
“The two halves of this film do not quite mesh, and the promise at the beginning of a hyper-real sheen to the camerawork and melodramatic music fade away to something more pedestrian. Yet there are enough philosophical conundrums and layers to keep an audience engaged, wondering to what extent you can change the past to save the future.”
01/04/2011
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Variety
Andrew Barker
“Solid execution and some provocative ideas can't save "Source Code" from a fatal hubris, as it thinks itself far more clever than it actually is and assumes it's earned emotions at which it's only hinted.”
11/03/2011
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The Financial Times
Nigel Andrews
“Duncan Jones (Moon) directs Ben Ripley’s neatly turned script. The geek generation will enjoy it, all those under-18s raised on advanced quantum theory and space-time conundrums. So may veterans who remember Last Year in Marienbad (1961). As with the Resnais/Robbe-Grillet masterwork, the past is less a foreign country, more an ever-shifting furniture showroom.”
30/01/2011
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The Daily Mail
Chris Tookey
“The bad news is the science behind why he can do this is so poorly explained, and the happy ending so obviously contrived that the best way to enjoy Ben Ripley’s nonsensical script is to suspend one’s critical faculties altogether.”
01/04/2011
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