SXSW film review
Source Code
Director: Duncan Jones, Writer: Ben Ripley When soldier Captain Colter Stevens (Jake Gyllenhaal) wakes up in the body of an unknown man, he discovers he’s part of a mission to find the bomber of a Chicago commuter train. In an assignment unlike any he’s ever known, he learns he’s part of a government experiment called the “Source Code,” a computer program that enables him to cross over into another man's identity in the last 8 minutes of his life.. Cast: Jake Gyllenhaal, Michelle Monaghan, Vera Farmiga, Jeffrey Wright (World Premiere)
WHO'S IT FOR? It really feels like a FOX TV thriller. Maybe like "Fringe," although I have to admit, I've never seen an episode. So, I guess it feels like what I think the vibe of "Fringe" is, if that makes sense.
OVERALL
I never felt it. Hope for the mission at hand, compassion for a soldier out of his element, falling for a girl, solving a mystery ... I never felt it. With that said, I did love the look of this movie and the action is very easy and enjoyable to sit through. The leads, Gyllenhaal and Monaghan did their job well, and I will happily watch anything director Duncan Jones puts out. Maybe this is a little bit my fault. After Jones' Moon, I was head-over-heels hooked. Plus, with Source Code I immediately figured out who the "bad guy" was, and I turned out to be right. So, while I was watching a movie that repeats eight minutes over and over again, I was waiting for Colter to finally catch up to what I already noticed. You know what, that's not my fault. That's on the film. Nothing ever dropped my jaw. I needed it to drop.
The Adjustment Bureau recently gave us desperate love between Damon and Blunt's characters. I could have used a little of that with Gyllenhaal and Monaghan. Jones is working on a similar idea that he had with Moon and that's the isolation of his main character. Colter is removed, physically and emotionally, but desperately wants to connect. Jones makes that work with the help of the amazing Sam Rockwell. Jones and Gyllenhaal don't quite rise to that level. Source Code didn't totally work. It feels like something I would see on the small screen. In fact, if this was the premiere episode, I would be interested and ready for episode two.
FINAL SCORE: 6/10