Eight minutes. That’s the amount of time you have to find out who planted a bomb on a subway train headed for Chicago before it explodes, killing everyone. The good news is that you can infinitely repeat the same eight minutes until you find the bomber. The bad news is the event already happened and everyone died in the explosion.

Source Code is an experimental new procedure that allows a subject to essentially hack into the final memories and experiences of someone and take control of his or her persona. Captain Colter Stevens (Jake Gyllenhaal) has been recruited by the government to use Source Code to go back to the events that day and discover the identity of the person responsible so they can stop future attacks.

If you’ve ever seen the film 12 Monkeys then you have the gist of Source Code. While the film is unique in its own right, the basic time travel concept is the same. Basically, anything Captain Stevens does within Source Code can’t change what happens in the real world. The information he gathers however, can be very useful. One downside to the program is that the more times he travels into the past, the more scrambled his brain becomes.

Even though nothing can change, Stevens continually attempts to alter the past. He wants to save the people on board the train. Despite his numerous attempts the end result is always the same. He does however fall for the lovely Christina (Michelle Monaghan), the traveling companion of the person he has taken over. Each time he enters the Source Code, his relationship with her evolves despite the fact that he only has eight minutes and starts what’s essentially a new relationship after each trip.

What makes Source Code work so well is that it never gets boring even though you’re watching the same eight minutes time and time again. There are always little changes that impact how Captain Stevens reacts to the situation. There are also the numerous interactions between him and those in charge, led by Carol Goodwin (Vera Farmiga). As the film goes on, we learn more and more about the program and all the players involved.

Part science fiction, part action thriller, Source Code straddles the line between what’s real and what’s fantasy. Director Duncan Jones convincingly makes it seem like this is something that could actually be possible in the future. Sure, it’s a little bit out there but one can dream, right?

Source Code will give you shots of adrenaline, in increments of eight minutes. Jake Gyllenhaal provides an exciting rush right up until the final moments of the film. If you worried that Duncan Jones might have been a one hit wonder with Moon, fear not because this one stands strong.

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