Source Code

***WARNING***

THE FOLLOWING REVIEW MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS AND CONTRADICTIONS THEREFORE IT MAYBE UNSUITABLE FOR SOME FUCKS. I WOULDN'T WORRY TOO MUCH THOUGH, YOU'D HAVE TO BE ABLE TO READ THE WORDS FIRST BEFORE THEY CAN SPOIL THE PLOT.

 ***YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED***

I went into a screening of 'Source Code' with absolutely no clue as to what it was about. I'd never seen a trailer, read a review or heard about the plot. The only reason I saw it was because people in Oxford city centre were starting to get on my nerves so much that I was considering running at a large group of Japanese tourists brandishing a wave machine in the hope they would either run like buggery or simply break down and cry. Realizing that people would probably think it was too soon to be doing such things I walked straight into Odeon and watched the first film I could, which happened to be 'Source Code'.

Explaining the plot to my average reader would be about as pointless as trying to explain the economic system to a dead homeless man with no ears. Plus the script is written in such a way that every scene is supposed to reveal something new about the plot and further twist the situation. In other words, by heading into 'Brown Sauce Code' without any previous knowledge you will actually get a lot more out of the film, like I did. It does, however, leave me with a review to write without ever mentioning the plot or any event that takes place within the film. My apologies in advance for what will be I feel, quite a tough read. Here it goes....

For starters 'Ketchup Code' is quite well written but it has a few unavoidable issues. From the get go the plot is thick and intriguing, and by not understanding what is going on the audience immediately sympathizes with the main character, played here by the ever watchable, Jake Gyllenhaal. Dialogue isn't exactly the scripts strongest point but that's really not the important part of the film. First and foremost this is a plot driven movie aimed at audience members who enjoy to analyze their films, something which I have enjoyed doing since watching 'Back to the Future' for the first time when I was nine. The trouble the script has and tries its best not to call attention too however, is its logic. The main idea is great and at first has a decent amount of logic to it, as does the conclusion. But by the time the film reaches it's conclusion, the idea itself appears to have lost its credibility which I see as quite the major flaw, especially when it comes to re-viewing. This however does not spoil the film or its plot. Did that make sense to you? No, nor me.

Performances are all great, its a small cast consisting of about ten people, each with very clear characters and appropriately unclear motives. Very little is required of most of the cast with exception of Gyllenhaal, Michelle Monaghan and Vera Farmiga who each do very commendable work.

There isn't much to look at artistically. In fact the film looks rather boring, with very little to catch the eye. Again though it is worth mentioning that the film is so heavy in the plot department that this goes almost entirely unnoticed. I just feel sorry for any deaf people who have to watch a film that makes a bowl of porridge look interesting.

All of my negative comments thus far are really fairly irrelevant when it comes to how enjoyable 'Reggae, Reggae Code' is to watch. My final point though is a rather damaging one though, and its to do with pacing. For the first hour 'Mustard Code' the plot moves briskly and keeps throwing curve ball after curve ball at you. Then the film slows down almost to a halt in order to infuse some extra emotion into the piece. It then quickens up for the climax and again slows up for the final few scenes. Somehow 'Barbeque Code' seems too long, when it really isn't. I feel that this would have made a better one hour TV special than an entire movie. In fact, if it was a TV movie, it would probably be one of my favorite viewing experiences of the summer.

To sum this mess up I'll say that 'Mayonnaise Code' is well worth a look if you enjoy deep, twist driven, brain activating plots. If the very idea of watching Michael Bay's third Transformer epic makes you want to defecate out of every wrong hole then this is probably the film for you. I really like this film and will happily purchase the DVD or Blu Ray come its release. It's a flawed gem.

'Source Code' gets....

3.5 out of 5

*Expect my review of a reviewable film (Limitless) within the next couple of days*