On track for success

EVERYONE hates unrelenting repetition, whether it be in the form of a monotonous job or trying to explain 'I already have a watch' to the tenacious bloke who tries to sell me one every time I walk down Exhibition Avenue.

However, there is something intrinsically profound about a movie that manages to take the same scenario, repeat it for over an hour and leave you scratching your head about what just happened.

There have been films of this sort before, most notably Bill Murray's ineffably funny Groundhog Day and to a lesser extent, Denzel Washington's De Ja Vou.

Source Code manages to take a well-established formula and present it in a fresh way, largely in part to the phenomenal talent of the cast.

While on a mission in Afghanistan, helicopter pilot Colter Stevens blacks out and awakes to find himself onboard a train. Sitting next to him is a beautiful young lady named Christina, who seemingly knows him, although she calls him Sean.

Obviously a little confused, he begins to ask questions but when nature calls he makes a trip to the loo. When he looks in the mirror, he doesn't recognise his reflection (weird huh) then, for no apparent reason, the train explodes, killing everyone on board (very weird).

Just as it looks like things couldn't get any more convoluted, he wakes up in some kind of pod (we've all been there, right?). Here he meets Goodwin, a scientist who tells him that he's part of a secret project. Not that I like to give away secrets, but it's kind of important ... the project allows people to enter someone else's consciousness for the last eight minutes of their life.

Goodwin tells Sean in no uncertain terms that he must go back in time to find out who the bomber is. Sean goes back several times only to meet the same explosive end every eight minutes, until eventually he stubbles on something important.

Gyllenhall is fantastic in his role and fits the reluctant hero profile down to a T. He manages to create palpable suspense and doesn't overplay the character, an easy pitfall of this particular genre.

Michelle Monahan's role is vital as she provides some much-needed on-screen chemistry with Gyllenhall. They make a great pair and their relationship is very important to the film ending.

Also worth mentioning is Vera Farmiga who, despite spending most of the film as a face on a screen, ties up the loose ends in a convincing way.

One thing that I feel could have been better about the movie was the dialogue. Some of the sci-fi terms thrown around were incomprehensible ... unless you're a quantum physicist, or you've been watching Star Trek for generations.

With that said, all the necessary information is dished out fairly regularly, so there's no need to bring your geeky friend along to translate.

Although this film is a blend of action and sci-fi, I think its essence is actually romance. No, it's not the kind of emotional stuff that will have you rushing for the tissues, but it does have an impact. This emotional element stops things from becoming stagnant, because, let's face it, who can watch a train blow up 14 times and still be interested (yes, I counted).

The ending leaves the door wide-open for a sequel, although, we'll see if that train-spires l Showing in Cineco, Seef I and Saar Cineplex