Finally got around to seeing Source Code. I had expectation jitters, hoping that it would live up to Duncan Jones first film 'Moon'. I really enjoyed Moon, as much for the story and acting as for what they were able to achieve with such a miniscule budget.

This script, like Moon's, is tight. By tight, I mean there is very little that does not directly impact the story or character developmnet. The acting is very good, although there are no Oscar caliber performances here (Sam Rockwell certainly delivered a nomination worthy performance for Moon).

Jake Gyllenhall is Captain Coulter Stevens, a helicopter pilot who only remembers last being stationed in Afghanistan. He wakes up disoriented inside a mechanical pod so claustrophobic that it could be the closet on a submarine. His only contact with the outside world is a TV monitor where a woman in a military uniform feeds him mission information. In a plot remeniscent of 'Twelve Monkeys', he must go back in time to discover who blew up a passenger train. Just like poor Bruce Willis in 'Monkeys', he doesnt get it right the first few times and must go back over and over again to learn tiny bits of information before being blown up with all the other passengers. Every time he goes back he learns more about the train and about how he ended up in the pod.

It would be hard for me to discuss why I feel this didn't turn out to be a superb film without revealing spoilers. I would like to point out that Moon had a budget of $5 million and looked like a $50 million movie. This had a slightly bigger budget with $32 million but still felt like a Class A movie on what Hollywood considers to be a B movie price. I can't wait to see what Jones can do when he gets a real budget; I just hope he's able to keep that movie from looking like the hollywood blockbusting trainwreck that producers think we want to see but are constantly losing money.

It's worth a theater visit, but you're not going to miss any part of the experience by waiting for the rental. 3.5 stars. 3 Stars for story and quality plus a .5 for 'more with less'.