Source Code was a fine surprise on its original 2011 cinema release, an exciting sci-fi with the versatile Jake Gyllenhaal on the back of 10 years+ of hit films, teaming up with inventive Director Duncan Jones, offering his second film after the critically acclaimed Moon, starring Sam Rockwell. There was intensive hype for Source Code, and thankfully it stands the test of time, which is down to its tightly-situated setups, and strong performances from the lead actors that also includes Michelle Monaghan, Vera Farmiga, and Jeffrey Wright.

If you don’t know, Source Code stars Gyllenhaal as Colter Stevens, a military man who wakes up inside the brain/body of a different man (called Sean) who’s sat on a train. On this train, he’s chatting with Monaghan’s Christina, but she thinks he’s still the ‘other’ man, as he doesn’t look any different – and it really is helpful if you know Quantum Leap here, even though they do reveal what’s going on in an early mirror sequence (you’ll see). Here, we also learn that Stevens is part of a secret government mission to find out who bombed this Chicago train and, yes, we’re talking in the past – because Colter/Sean is on the train that has already blown up.

It turns out that ‘Source Code’ is an covert operation as it enables the subject to move inside the self of a person’s identity for the last 8 minutes of their life (Quantum physics, I ask?), and Colter will live within that bombing moment time again and again, until he solves who caused it. So, yes, it’s a lovely little sprinkle of mystery, with a good dollop of ‘pay attention’ wrapped up like a tight burrito thriller.

Written by Ben Ripley, and directed by Duncan Jones, the film is an admirable collaborative piece, both in front and behind the camera, with cinematography from Don Burgess (keeping it intense in tight situations and feeling modern in the wider context), alongside smart, significant editing work from Paul Hirsch as we flash back and forth – as over the initial time and Colter not getting results, we ‘reset’ multiple times in a faster sequence – something you may remember from the superb Tom Cruise/Emily Blunt starrer Edge of Tomorrow), and who doesn’t love a time-travel-like adventure – especially when it’s done with clever narrative progression. The script itself finds an able balance of disclosing information, while keeping the eventual (even bigger) story just out of reach – which can be hard to do in any story circumstance.

As this is technically a character-story, those elements of storytelling are kept tight by Gyllenhaal, Farmiga, Monaghan and Wright (in fine form as well). And while I did remember more of the initial story than I thought I would, which could take away the surprise element of the film itself, those early sequences were still fun – and you get Jake Gyllenhaal showing us his adaptability and scale of panic as his desperation grows – because he remembers every reset of time.

What I did find particularly interesting was how my emotive response to the journey has changed since I first watched it all those years ago. For me, the latter third of the movie feels the strongest and most stimulating. And it can be a rare thing to see a film get better as it progresses, but it’s more human and more effective the more you learn about both the plot and all the nuances of the involved characters. Also, the 4K UHD element keeps it sharp and, fortunately, the CGI elements aren’t too dated possibly due to the on-screen world being quite simple.

If you’re new to the film, I think you’ll find Source Code an enjoyable ride, as it keeps that modern edge with the right scripting  – and insightful comments on racial profiling, which clearly remains in today’s society – plus it also flips that in a smart way. It’s definitely not perfect but if you’re returning to check out the 4K UHD element, and can’t quite remember how it all plays out, I’d also easily recommend it for something that’s equally clever and exciting to escape with.

Special Features

Packed with extras, I believe from the original Blu-ray release, but they’re entertaining to explore, and proves that a huge amount of thought and planning went into creating the film, just by the sheer magnitude of special features. Check out the 5 Things You Might Have Missed feature (and I got most of these but if you haven’t seen the film, you may miss stuff first time around), and, oh boy, one of my favourite things was learning it’s the voice of Scott Bakula on the phone to Gyllenhaal’s Colter at an important moment.

The extras also offer up expert intel from a Scientist alongside the breakdown of the mathematical possibilities, plus infomercial-type segments which talk about quantum physics, how the brain recalls information and loads more, which was appealing to this mind.

You’ve also got the classic film commentary with Duncan Jones, Jake Gyllenhaal, and Ben Ripley, as well as individual interviews with Jake and Duncan. I also enjoyed the conversations, from both sides, about Duncan and Jake meeting up, and the latter’s desire to make the film with Duncan due to its Hitchcock-mystery element, alongside the modern and technical ideas, as well as the reason for taking hypothetical ideas and making it real – taking audiences beyond.

Source Code is available to buy on 4K UHD now: https://amzn.to/44KbAW9

Or fancy being in with a chance of winning a copy? Click here!

SPECIAL FEATURES:

• Audio commentary with
• 5 Crazy things you might have missed
• Cast and crew insights
• Source Code: Focal points
• Expert Intel – The Science Behind Source Code
• Interview with Jake Gyllenhaal               
• Interview with Duncan Jones
• Theatrical Trailer
• Trailer 2024