Source Code

Captain Colter Stevens (Jake Gyllenhaal), an army helicopter pilot, awakes abrubtly on a Chicago bound commuter train but Christina (Michelle Monoghan), whose sitting across from him, keeps calling him Sean. Captain Stevens denies being this 'Sean guy' and frantically moves about the train, attempting to find clues to where he's at and what's happening. He goes to the bathroom, looks in the mirror and sees another man's face. He checks his ID to see that it says Sean Fentress. But before he can piece the mystery together, the train blows up, killing everyone onboard.

Captain Stevens awakes again but this time harnessed. He's greeted by Captain Colleen Goodwin (Vera Farmiga) through a computer screen. He looks to be engulfed in a capsule. Still confused and short on memory, he asks questions - most of which Capt. Goodwin answers vaguely. After their game of Q&A, he learns that he is inside whats called the Source Code; a program that allows him to takeover another person's body for the last eight minutes of their life. The audience can relate to Captain Stevens' experience, being that we learn about the events unfolding simultaneously.

The train Stevens awoke on was bombed earlier that day. So through a series of missions - being shot back to Sean's body again and again - Dr.Rutledge (Jeffrey Wright), the Source Code creator, expects Stevens to uncover any clues and eventually take down the suspect in order to prevent a future attack - a bombing of downtown Chicago. (Talk about nerve-racking for me, who saw this movie in the city.)

When Stevens arrives back on the train as Sean, he begins to recall his last visit and events unfold similarly, very Groundhog Day-esque - making it almost impossible for the actors to forget their lines. This time he finds the bomb in the ventilation of the bathroom. Afraid he'll accidently detonate it, he leaves it, only for it blow up later at the conclusion of the eight minutes. He learns and acts differently each time under the instruction of Capt. Goodwin and Dr. Rutledge.

As he's thrown in and out of what he believes to be an alternate reality, his affection for Christina grows. However he's told there's no way to save her or the other passengers - who've already died.

Frustration mounts as Stevens asks more questions regarding himself and his family.  

 The film is an ongoing mystery but has a few more surprises, that I'll refrain from spoiling. But it's well worth a trip to the theater. Stevens is a fearless hero and Christina is easy to like. Gyllenhaal and Monoghan work well. The movie remains excitingly unpredictable - other than the romance - until the end - earning it 3.5 out of 4 stars. To my Chicagoans and commuters who've seen this film, don't fret to look out the window, our great city is still in tact.