In 2011, Jake Gyllenhaal starred in the incredible and underrated time travel movie, Source Code, which preceded the surprisingly similar Edge of Tomorrow by three years. Hollywood tends to tune in to what is in vogue and create movies that tie in with popular and trendy themes. Whether it’s zombies, irreverent comedies, parody movies, or expansive sci-fi, it’s common for these concepts to get multiple movies within a few years.

This same phenomenon occurred in the 2010s with time travel movies. Predestination, Looper, About Time, and Arrival all offered different takes on a time travel story, focused on action, romance, or other alternative genres. However, while the absurdly underrated Source Code got buried in the trend of releasing back in 2011, Tom Cruise and Emily Blunt brought their star power to Edge of Tomorrow, making it one of the most popular and praised films of this era. Interestingly, both movies have a similar plot which uses a specific and fatal kind of time travel.

Jake Gyllenhaal’s Source Code Released 3 Years Before Tom Cruise’s Edge Of Tomorrow

Was Source Code Too Early To The Trend?

Source Code is a brilliant sci-fi thriller which follows a man, played by Gyllenhaal, who wakes up in someone else’s body on a moving train. While he is initially disorientated, he attempts to make sense of what’s going on. However, it isn’t until he dies in an intense explosion which takes out everyone on the train that he begins to get clarity. Guided by another female soldier who is leading the operation, he learns that he is on a mission to find out who is behind the explosion, and he will continually return to eight minutes before the explosion until he figures it out.

Edge of Tomorrow’s sci-fi action story follows a man who is sent onto the front lines of a dangerous battle with aliens. By chance, he stumbles into one of the leaders of the alien race and manages to kill it, but this has the unintended side effect of causing him to travel back to relive a chunk of time before this moment. He then finds a female soldier who provides him with guidance and helps him to take on a mission of finding the alien leader, with each reset honing his skills and experience. It’s not a one-to-one carbon copy, but the similarity is notable.

Is Source Code Better Than Edge Of Tomorrow?

The truth is, both movies are excellent time travel stories with scores in the 90s on Rotten Tomatoes, but they also accomplish different things. Source Code is more psychological and thrilling, with a tighter turnaround for Gyllenhaal’s character to uncover the mystery. The movie also has a spectacular twist ending which makes it extremely satisfying and fun to follow. Edge of Tomorrow is a larger sci-fi spectacle, with future technology, aliens, and a lot of action. As a result, either one can be incredibly satisfying to watch.

However, due to Source Code’s pared back approach, and the twists in the story, it stands out as being a more clever, well-designed script and overall film. Source Code deserves a lot more love for what it accomplished with a budget that was more than five times smaller than Edge of Tomorrow (via The Numbers), and it still racked up a spectacular $140 million at the box office (via The Numbers). This and the ending give Source Code the edge, positioning it as one of the best sci-fi movies of the 2010s.