History YMMV / SourceCode

** Firstly, the entire movie frames the "Source Code" device as a tool for viewing the '''memories''' of the deceased, and we're given flimsy evidence (at best) that the the world of Fentress' memories is actually a fully formed universe. Naturally, this has led many people to conclude that [[spoiler: Colter is simply dying, having a last fantasy as the firing of neurons slowly fades]].

* SpecialEffectsFailure / UncannyValley: When Colter is rolling on the ground after jumping off the train, it's a little too obvious that it's a CGI stand-in.

** Firstly, the entire movie frames the "Source Code" device as a tool for viewing the '''memories''' of the deceased, and we're given flimsy evidence (at best) that the the world of Fentress' memories is actually a fully formed universe. Naturally, this has led many people to conclude that [[spoiler: Colter is simply living out his days trapped in someone else's mind]].
** Secondly, even if you accept that [[spoiler: Colter has found a second chance in a new universe]], it doesn't change the fact that [[spoiler: he's just stolen someone else's life and identity, everyone (including his new love interest) believes that he's someone he's not, and all of his old friends and family still believe that he's dead]]. No matter how you slice it, [[spoiler: Colter can never go back to his old life, and he's lost all of his loved ones]].
** Third, Colter himself now has to somehow try to cope with living as Sean Fentress, a man he knows very little about. Fentress obviously has friends and family whom Colter has never met before. He likely has everyday things secured with PIN codes and passwords Colter does not know. ''And'' he has a job as a history teacher, which Colter is completely unqualified for. Heck, Fentress might even have some kind of medical condition that he is managing but Colter knows nothing about.

* ActorAllusion: Jake Gyllenhaal at one point says "[[Film/DonnieDarko Everything's going to be OK.]]" [[spoiler: It isn't]].
** Also this is not the first time he has had to deal with [[spoiler: [[Film/DonnieDarko alternate realities/time traveling]] ]]
** Lest we forget that Creator/ScottBakula is once again involved with [[Series/QuantumLeap a time travel project]] (although briefly).

* TheWoobie: Colter. He's trapped in a dark box, not knowing what is happening to him, and is forced to live his own death and witness countless others over and over again [[spoiler: without being allowed to die properly]].

* AdamWesting: Comedian Russell Peters basically plays an expy of himself.

* ActorAllusion: Jake Gyllenhaal at one point says "[[Film/DonnieDarko Everything's going to be OK.]]" [[spoiler: [[CaptainObvious It isn't]].]]

** Lest we forget that Scott Bakula is once again involved with [[Series/QuantumLeap a time travel project]] (although briefly).

** Also this is not the first time he has had to deal with [[spoiler: [[DonnieDarko alternate realities/time traveling]] ]]

* HeyItsThatVoice: Colter's father is played by none other than [[Series/QuantumLeap Scott]] [[Series/StarTrekEnterprise Bakula]]. As the film was tagged by its creators as ''Film/GroundhogDay'' meets ''Series/QuantumLeap'', this is probably [[ActorAllusion not coincidental]].

** Lest we forget that Scott Bakula is once again involved with [[QuantumLeap a time travel project]] (although briefly).

* HeyItsThatVoice: Colter's father is played by none other than [[QuantumLeap Scott]] [[Series/StarTrekEnterprise Bakula]]. As the film was tagged by its creators as ''Film/GroundhogDay'' meets ''QuantumLeap'', this is probably [[ActorAllusion not coincidental]].

* AdamWesting: Comedian Rusell Peters basically plays an expy of himself.

* TheWoobie: Colter. He's trapped in a dark box, not knowing what is happening to him, and is forced to live his own death and witness countless others over and over again [[spoiler: without being allowed to die properly]].

* FateWorseThanDeath: The Source Code itself, but not according to Rutledge.

* FateWorseThanDeath: Arguably the Source Code... but not according to Rutledge.

* CompleteMonster: The bomber.

* UnfortunateImplications: It is never talked about what happened to Sean, the teacher whose body and mind Colter takes over. Since at the end [[spoiler: Colter seems to be able to live on indefinitely as Sean]], the original Sean is either dead or trapped in some sort of BeingJohnMalkovich state.

* TheWoobie: Colter. He's trapped in a dark box, not knowing what is happening to him, and is forced to live his own death and witness countless others over and over again [[spoiler: without being allowed to die properly]].

* SpecialEffectsFailure / UncannyValley: When Colter is rolling on the ground after jumping off the train, it's a little too obvious to this troper that it's a CGI stand-in.

* FridgeHorror: The capsule Colter finds himself in after coming out of the Source Code and communicates with Goodwin in is [[spoiler: a manifestation of his unconscious mind sensing the life support box his body is being kept in, which is why it expanded when he became aware that he was all but dead.]]
** If Colter [[spoiler: survives Goodwin taking him off life support]], because Source Code [[spoiler: works by actually transporting the operative into another reality]], what about all the [[spoiler: realities]] of all of Colter's previous attempts? Is there a [[spoiler: new reality out]] there where [[spoiler: Colter beat up that Indian gentleman and then Christina witnessed him (Colter/Sean) get run over by a train?]] Or, because Colter [[spoiler: didn't stay in them]], do they not exist anymore?
*** [[spoiler: Also comes with the Fridge something, when you realize that the ability to affect/create a new timeline means that as far as the pre-Code version of Colter, his 'first' Source Code mission never actually occurs while at the same time, his conscious (from each post-first mission) slowly spreads from person to person that he jumps into. So from the perspective of his body, he never gets taken off life support since he's always being prepped for his first mission while from the perspective of his multiplying conscious, there's more and more of him out there.]]
** [[spoiler: What happens to Sean in the ending, anyway? Did he just stop existing because he happened to be similar enough to Colter for Colter to [[GrandTheftMe hijack his body]]?]]
*** [[ItGotWorse It gets worse.]] [[spoiler: Colter appears to be absolutely fine residing in Sean's body without letting anybody else know. The woman who had already fallen for Sean (having waited, for months, for him to ask her to have coffee) has no idea that he's been [[BodySnatcher body-snatched]] by a soldier from a parallel universe; his parents will never know what happened to their son; his friends will never know why he [[NotHimself suddenly dropped all contact with them]], and his students, at least some of whom he's probably formed close, mentoring relationships with, will have no idea that this is a different man. Sure, he might be "close enough" to Sean psychologically to be a good fit, but just imagine any of that happening to your loved one, your child, your friend, or one of your favorite teachers. Or to you. And when he sees his reflection at the end of the movie, reminding himself of all of this? He's smiling because he's next to the woman who will never know she's with a different man. Brrr.]]
** [[spoiler:Once Colter successfully saves the entire train from being blown up and goes on to live with Christina, it shows Goodwin receiving his text message and looking in on Dr. Rutledge, who is now waiting for a new crisis on which to test the Source Code, with Colter still kept in a stasis. Assuming the project is not terminated at some point in the future, how many alternate futures could be created where an alternate Colter has taken over the mind of somebody, like whole root systems growing down away from a central tree?]]
*** [[spoiler: It rather depends on how the Source Code "create-a-new-world" thing works. Since this new world exists soley because of the Source Code there's a good chance Sean Fentress never existed there except as Colter. He's still going to have the personal relationship issues mentioned above, but he's not body-jacking anyone.]]
** [[spoiler:The happy ending is all well and good, until you realize that Colter still has no memory of Sean's life beyond the eight minutes he repeatedly spent on the train. If Colter gets to continue in the alternate reality as Sean and pick up where Sean left off, he's going to have a hard time piecing together all the details he's supposed to know without looking crazy. He had a hard enough time getting down his encounter with Christina, and this time there's no [[ResetButton Reset Button]] to undo his mistakes]]. All he really has is that one perfect freeze-frame moment on the train.
*** To be fair, it seems like Christina apparently prefers Colter to Sean, so he should be alright (at least by Hollywood standards).
*** Also, it's shown in montage that he goes back over and over again before he finds the bomber. Perhaps some of that time was spent, say, going through his bag to find out more details about himself.
*** Never mind that Colter's going to have to spend the rest of his life as a teacher a career he might not enjoy.
**** I'm pretty sure people are allowed to change jobs. If Sean had a decent savings nest egg, Colter can retrain as something else he'd rather do for a living.

* LoveItOrHateIt: The ending