Everything is going to be okay.

A movie from one of my favorite directors, starring one of my favorite actors, and it all takes place in my favorite city in the world. Nice. To lift a little from Roger Ebert's thoughts on the film, the science of Source Code kinda makes zero sense, but it's treated with enough respect and confidence that it ends up not really mattering for the overall product. It's a tense as hell thriller that's pretty much the definition of a "popcorn movie", and a damn good one at that. It's a straightforward premise and it moves along smoothly with an hour and a half runtime. Like in the actual plot, every minute counts, and Source Code utilizes every second of its time well. It also does a good job with its efforts of slowly revealing information. It allows you to do some of the guessing work before more is revealed, and you feel like a smarty pants when you figure out something before you're told it. I have to tip my hat to a film that's willing to treat its audience with respect and have a little fun with its high concept.

I'll have to it that this is probably in the low tier in of Jake Gyllenhaal performances, but that's not saying much. You can tell he's still giving this role his full effort, and that's what makes him one of the best currently working actors today. Add in Michelle Monaghan, Vera Farmiga, and my man Jeffrey Wright into the mix, and you have yourself a good cast to guide you along the way of breaking the fabric of time. Duncan Jones' direction, though not in your face with style, I also enjoyed. The film has this gloss over it that adds to a dreamy atmosphere, which takes a while to get used to, however by the end it's a little extra something to make the whole experience that more engaging. Jones has got some really good mystery/thriller genes in that director brain of his. A cool dude that should get to make many movies in his life. Here's hoping.

If you've heard Source Code described as "Groundhog Day but it's an action movie", that's a fair description, and hopefully it's peaked your interest in seeing it because it's as entertaining as it sounds. Not a great movie by any regards, yet more or less a solid movie to put on during a lazy Saturday morning. Simplistic without being brainless, Source Code is explosive, tense, and just all-around good. Sometimes that's about all you need. Though it works as a single work, I'd absolutely be down for a sequel. Chicago has a new time/reality traveling hero, and his name is "Jake Gyllenhaal but it's not really Jake Gyllenhaal." I wish our trains here actually had a fully-functioning Dunkin' Donuts booth on board. It's false advertising, folks, and I wish it were as real as you do. Gyllenhaal runs on Duncan.

7.5/10