Anyone with a working knowledge of sci-fi — “Star Trek”, “Back to the Future”, even “Quantum Leap” — could guess the end to this one. I’ll go a step further and say that the major content here is just as predictable. But mildly entertaining as it may be, “Source Code” commits the ultimate sci-fi sin, dumbing down time travel to appease the rules of a thriller.

helle Monaghan as Christina Warren (left), and Jake Gyllenhaal (left), as Captain Colter Stevens, star in “Source Code”. The film opened second at the box office last weekend with $14.3 million. (photo courtesy of Summit Entertainment)

Have you seen “Vantage Point” or “Groundhog Day”? Then you know where this one goes: nowhere new. Capt. Colter Stevens (Jake Gyllenhaal) keeps waking up on a train with only eight minutes to solve the mystery of its demise before a bomb explodes. This is the future of fighting modern terrorism and Colter, though confused, is lost in the midst of this new frontier. To help him between resets is Capt. Colleen Goodwin (Vera Farmiga), always ready on the other side of a computer screen to debrief him and get him set for the next round.

Over and over again, he must try to make sense of his surroundings, all the while failing to remember how he became involved in this unique program. To make matters worse, there’s a woman, as there always is. Christina Warren (Michelle Monaghan) is the gorgeous damsel he begins every conversation with at the start of his eight minutes. There’s chemistry here, but Colter’s got a mission. I know what you’re thinking, but Dr. Rutledge (Jeffrey Wright) makes it very clear that the past can’t be changed. The eight-minute period is but a source code, a projection of a parallel reality where Colter can move through, but he’ll never be able to change his reality. In short, this love must remain Shakespearian.

Jake Gyllenhaal stars as Captain Colter Stevens in the time travel thriller, “Source Code,” a film written by Ben Ripley and directed by Duncan Jones. (photo courtesy of Summit Entertainment)

I can see how the premise might be enticing, but the thrills aren’t that great and the story is all too familiar. In fact, I saw this film five years ago when it was called “Déjà Vu”. Denzel Washington joins a special program that sends him back in time to uncover the mastermind behind a ferry explosion. Now of course there are differences: trains and ferries are completely different (and not just forms of mass transportation) and Denzel can only go back in time once while Jake, as Colter, can revisit the past as many times as his body will allow him. I imagine it’s these minute differences that kept the copyright lawyers at bay.

Duncan Jones wowed us with his feature debut, “Moon”, a creative work about a cloned man who discovers he isn’t as unique as he once thought. But his sophomore release feels like a half-witted attempt to prove he can do something with a faster pace, thus replacing slow contemplation with a thin concept that’s overly repetitive by the end.

All mocking aside, we do have some outstanding performances that save this one from complete mediocrity. What Jones loses in his ability to prove he’s more than a novelty sci-fi director, he makes up for by paving the way for strong performers. Monaghan, as Christina Warren, is adorable, as usual. Jeffrey Wright moves a bit beyond his usual roles, trying out the eccentric/condescending/obsessive genius running the show, though the character’s stereotypical construction has filled more than one episode of “The Twilight Zone” or “The X-Files”. Farmiga goes through the most emotional progression, again proving herself to be a potential A-lister to keep an eye on.

Finally, there’s Gyllenhaal, who’s always an on-screen delight, as long as he’s not trying to pass for a Persian prince. Moving between romance, lunacy and military conditioning, Gyllenhaal has plenty to pull from. Of course he’s good here and it’s nice to see him back at the sci-fi cutting board, but it’s not enough. With such great actors, the story boldly goes where so many films have already gone before.

If you want to think long and hard about time travel, rewatch “The Terminator” and really try to break apart the way it ends. Or laugh at the illogical moments in Marty McFly’s adventures. Lastly, try to wrap your mind around anything that happens in “12 Monkeys”. But if you just want something with an ounce of thought and some fine performances, then “Source Code” should be enough for a couple hours of nothing special.