A Parallel universe or an extrapolation or a replaying or a simulation created from the short term memories taken from a dead body fused with the brain of another dead body using "quantum theory" to construct an 8 minute loop ofahhhhhhhhhhhh????????????????
Was the "simple" central premise of this movie just poorly explained or poorly conceived?
That's what I thought it should have been based on the components they had to work with (an essentially dead brain that was partially active). This would have created a whole bunch of gigantic plot holes though. So apparently they can access an alternate universe using this dead pilot. Which is simply science magic fiction. Everything is then explained quite easily.
I choose to believe what I was programmed to believe
It has to be a parallel universe of a sorts, since the dead passenger memory cannot include places and events that he didn't witness. That's what Colter tries to explain to Goodwin through out the movie. That's the only way to explain the ending, too.
shareWell, the science of this film was complete garbage. The premise is that the train had already exploded, and they found enough brains of one passenger that they were able to pair with a nearly-killed pilot because their brains were similar, as were their physical builds and mental states. Apparently, this one in a million match-up was able to be made within an hour and delivered to a facility in Nevada within an hour or so of the terrorist attack.
The simulation was based on the memories of the passenger, yes, but one might allow that the brain records far more than we actually experience. Even so, he died, so he clearly did not get off at that train stop, so that entire sequence following the Middle Eastern guy was completely fabricated by the computer, extrapolated from what the passenger saw looking out the window. At some point the "Matrix" should have broken down.
The ending is complete fantasy. The closest I can bring the ending to reality is that maybe he's in the afterlife.
But really, I think this was just a fun thriller that wasn't meant to be analyzed too closely. I love this movie, but when I try to think about how things work, it just doesn't come together. And that's okay. It's a good story.
- Dark Reality
*Spoilers*
I thought the movie was ok, but it kind of left me with a bad aftertaste - mostly because the ending felt very contrived. However, I do not feel there are any inherent flaws, aside from the poor explanation of what the 'source code' is and/or does.
I would like to try to address some of the points you mention, and share some thoughts I have on the film:
The ending is complete fantasy. The closest I can bring the ending to reality is that maybe he's in the afterlife.
The simulation was based on the memories of the passenger, yes, but one might allow that the brain records far more than we actually experience.....At some point the "Matrix" should have broken down.
Even so, he died, so he clearly did not get off at that train stop, so that entire sequence following the Middle Eastern guy was completely fabricated by the computer, extrapolated from what the passenger saw looking out the window.
Apparently, this one in a million match-up was able to be made within an hour and delivered to a facility in Nevada within an hour or so of the terrorist attack.
They never fully explain how the 8 minute loop of the train victim was acquired. The assumption I would have is they found his head and where able to create the interface. You would also have to assume there where teams on the ready in all major cities to "harvest" the candidate. I would think then we could assume that the information could be transmitted back to Nellis in some form to be loaded in the source code. Now there where references to "simulations" so we can assume the Source Code on Capt. Stevens side was fully functional and at the end of the new timeline they where lamenting the fact that they where not going to get to test the Source Code so they sounded prepared to harvest the 8 minutes at the time the disaster was averted.
We make assumptions in almost every movie we watch. Take Home Alone, we assume the family in France was able to get from the airport to the apartment yet we don't see the car/van/cab/limo etc. take them. Where it gets in to trouble is when the assumption requires the viewer to assume events/technology that doesn't exist.
Ultimately there are entire series of beliefs that we create our own worlds. Positive Affirmations the "Law of Attraction" Buddhism etc. So what I believe happened is the power of Capt. Stevens mind created the alternative universe and since I believe it, it must be true (at least in my world construct)