10 Good Movies That Could've Been Great (With One Simple Fix)
2. It Ends On The Freeze-Frame - Source Code
The Movie
Duncan Jones' follow-up to Moon is one of the most creative sci-fi films of the last decade, a thriller in which U.S. Army Captain Colter Stevens (Jake Gyllenhaal) is sent into an eight-minute digital recreation of a real-life train explosion, tasked with figuring out the identity of the terrorist who bombed it.
Between Ben Ripley's smart script, Jones' visually imaginative direction and the strong performances of the ensemble cast, Source Code has rightly endured as a cult fave - a killer concept largely done justice.
The Simple Fix
But, like so many almost-great genre films, Source Code doesn't quite know when to quit, and ultimately overplays its hand in the final stretch.
Stevens eventually learns that his physical body was actually gravely wounded two months prior and his consciousness is in fact being transmitted into the mind of a man, Sean Fentress, in various parallel universes in the hope of discovering the bomber. After numerous failed attempts, Stevens manages to successfully complete his mission, if still failing to prevent the explosion.
Stevens finally asks that he be re-inserted into the "simulation" one last time, after which his life support be switched off, and this time, using all his previously accrued knowledge, he manages to prevent the bomb going off within the eight minutes.
However, when his life support is turned off, Stevens' consciousness miraculously endures on its own within this new parallel dimension, serving up a rather sappy, feel-good conclusion to Stevens' near-tragic story. If you can ignore the disturbing implication of Stevens essentially hijacking another man's consciousness, that is.
It's especially frustrating as the film clearly should've ended on the brilliantly affecting freeze-frame when Stevens' life support is terminated - the train is full of happy people, Stevens gets to kiss his love interest Christina (Michelle Monaghan), and locking them all in that perfect moment would've been a compellingly heartbreaking end to the story.
Such a bittersweet ending would've elevated Source Code to undeniable greatness, rather than leaving many irritated by its concession to mainstream tastes.