15 Best Films Of The Decade (So Far)

11. Source Code

Tight sci-fi thrillers that deliver on their promises are hard to come by. Having a great idea is all well and good, but if you can't capitalise on it then it's worth nothing. Typically, the 2010s have brought plenty of films that squandered interesting ideas on sloppy direction (The Adjustment Bureau) or third-act divergences into generic action territory (Edge Of Tomorrow), but that's all forgivable thanks Duncan Jones' Source Code. It sometimes get lost in comparison to the director's equally stellar Moon, but the Quantum-Leap-on-a-train flick is more than deserving of undying praise, proof that Zowie Bowie is the real deal. The set-up (Jake Gyllenhaal is repeatedly sent into a computer program to find out who bombed a passenger train) is killer and the film is more than happy to deliver. Ben Ripley's pacing is at just the right level, with each trip into the titular "program" teasing more information about both the mission at hand and the real state of its hero, while the whole thing looks so crisp and new it makes modern Chicago look incredibly futuristic. A last-minute reveal at first appears to be a twist for twist's sake, but upon rewatch it becomes apparent it's necessary to tie the various character arcs together. For Gyllenhaal it helped signal the start of an exciting new career direction. For years known as Donnie Darko or not-Heath Ledger from Brokeback Mountain, this started a string of impeccably picked projects that allowed him to deliver subtle performances consistently against type.