The Matrix, 1999: Woah! What-the-..., Wow! Oh Man! Hail the Wachowsky's for changing our lives forever
Inception, 2010: Woah! Wow! No-way! Cool! Awesome Mr. Nolan
Source Code, 2011: What-the-..., Oh Ok! Great.
If that doesn't say it all, then here's the details.
Source code once again brings to the fore the genre of movies that we can't put a finger on (is it action, is it suspense, is it thriller), but those which we can't get enough of. It's movies that don't reach out to you, but make you want to reach out to them. Movies, that you don't sit back & relax with, but actively participate & think along with. Movies that mix technology, biology, neurology, philosophy into a heady cocktail that gives you the trip of your life. Movies, in one way or another alter your own reality. I call this genre, the "Alternate Reality" Movies Genre.
Source Code definitely fits the bill on this genre, keeping you hooked on till the very end, keeping you guessing what's gonna happen next. Will he find the bomb? Will he find the terrorist in time? Will he kiss the girl?
The movie presents the alternate reality of the 8 minute memory capture of a nearly-dead brain, that can be used by the authorities to save the world. It keeps you guessing about where the bomb is, who the terrorist could be, making you look around in the train just as he is. The movie even makes you suspect Russell Peters (what was he doing in the movie!)... well, almost! And all of this in a span of thrilling 8 minutes...again, and again, and again...
While the movie is enjoyable as all "Alternate Reality" movies are, this movie doesn't change your life. Actually, far from it. It presents an entertaining story that you watch for the 90 minutes, smile at the time you spent and then forget when you walk out of the theatre. In many ways, it's a dumbed-down version of a concept that potentially had more excitement to offer. The ingredients were all there - 8 minutes, almost-dead-brain, train with a potential exploding bomb, suspects on the train, almost-but-not-quite time travel. But, the chef didn't mix them well.
So, does the Source Code disappoint? Not really. Only movies that set up a very high expectation disappoint. But, Source Code never sets this high expectation. Pretty early on in the movie, it dumbs-down and lays down in black-n-white exactly what's happening & therefore setting up exactly what's going to happen. And therefore, it doesn't disappoint, but keeps you engaged till the end.
It takes the vision of the Wachowsky's or a Nolan to really do justice to Alternate Reality movies. And Source Code isn't that. Not by a mile.
