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SimplyScripts Screenwriting Discussion Board    Reviews    Movie, Television and DVD Reviews  ›  Source Code Moderators: Nixon
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Dreamscale
Posted: August 8th, 2011, 1:08pm Report to Moderator
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Just saw this last night.  I wanted to see it in the theater, when it was released, but didn't make it.  I've been waiting for it on Netflix, and am happy to finally see it.

$32 Million budget, $123 Million WWBO...pretty nice, even though it was not seen as a big BO success here in the states.  Critically praised by actual critics and fans alike for the most part.  It may be a premise and story we think we've seen before, but for me, it was different enough to not only stand out, but stand above, as well.

Listen, when you go into a sci-fi flick (even more than any other genre), you have to be open for whatever's going to be thrown at you.  I see many people upset with the ending, saying it doesn't make sense, it's impossible based on the logic that was set up throughout the movie, etc.

Bottom line is that the entire premise and setup is downright ridiculous, itself.  So many things I could bring up (that I haven't seen brought up yet) that are way more than just leaps in logic throughout.

You're either going to buy into the sci-fi elements, or you're not.  And from there, you're either going to stay with it, based on story and characters, or you're going to tune out.

For me, because they didn't really reveal the actual situation until about the half way point, I was already invested in the story and characters.  It probably doesn't hurt that I'm a real sucker for Michelle Monaghan, either.  I did start to grow weary of the repeating nature of the plot, but at about the 25 minute mark, I started enjoying myself, and really wondering who the bomber was and if he or she would get caught in time by our hero Jake.

I gotta admit I was way off in what I was pretty sure was going to go down.  I would have bet big money Michelle was going to end up being involved in the bombing.  I really did...even after Frost was revealed.

Everything took on a different feel when Jake's actual situation was revealed.  Lots of stuff and different dynamics going on between the different actors and for me, it all worked.

So, then we get the ending that has everyone screaming and crying bullshit.  Sorry, but for me, it totally worked and was very heartfelt even.  I had totally bought into the relationship between Jake and Michelle, as well as Jake and Vera, even.

Does it make sense?  Probably not...I guess it depends on how deep you dive in and discuss possible scenarios in which it can work...and there are some, too.  But then again, does any of it make sense?  Not really, so for me, no big deal.  I am definitely not one for happy, tacked on Hollywood endings, but here, it worked and was well done

I'm actually surprised how much I enjoyed this movie.  It was intriguing, well acted, nicely paced, and over all, very well done.

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Dreamscale  -  August 8th, 2011, 7:12pm
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DarrenJamesSeeley
Posted: August 8th, 2011, 7:05pm Report to Moderator
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Time for me to chime in. I know it's discussed, but still be warned of heavy duty spoilerage:

About the ending. If it was me personally I would have chopped it right at the freeze frame moment as Goodwin decides not to pull the plug, but to reboot him and erase the memory. This way, in Steven's mind, he did save the train and stop the bomber. He's seen and expierienced death countless times (even the first time around, noticing the character's "war condition" which may also play in mental truama) More importantly, he "talked" to his father for the last time. (Note: I found out this this was a bit of an Easter egg, as his father was voiced by Scott Bakula. That was a nice touch!) That's not a real Hollywood ending, but since his mission was to identify the bad guy, and said bad guy was "caught" he still saved countless lives. If the film ended right there, it would be outstanding.

I didn't outright hate the ending we are given, with one exception.  Because of the ending, the film blinks and becomes less than perfect. The insert shots of Chicago landmarks from earlier I feel are afterthoughts in an editing room to cover some butts. It doesn't work for me, and I think it violates the story. Here's why:

Steven has been in the machine for at least two months. When the train bombing happened, The Source Code project was put into effect.  Steven could only go in for eight minutes. When Stevens saves the passengers at the end, and the time unfreezes after eight minutes,it should be Sean Fentress - who we seen in the mirror and on the driver's license. Instead we see Stevens.  While the message was sent BEFORE the eight minutes were up, it is quite alright for Goodwin to get the message in the changed reality. But the last bit of the message "is Source Code works and for her to tell him the truth when the next 'mission' happens." is incorrect, given the premise of the movie and the ending itself by itself.

And that's what's bugging people. It's implied that his conciousness is still in Fentress. Fentress should - should have his body back. It would have been neat if Fentress has "memories" of Stevens, and, I think, playing by the rulebook. THEN have the flashes of landmarks, meaning that those are Fentress' memories, Not his.

Follow me?

So...when Stevens goes on another mission, his conciousness is transported into another person, right? Wrong! Because he's in Fentress! The only other wild possibility is that "Fentress" is in Stevens body, but that's not what Stevens says. In addition, Fentress' spirit cannot be dead since he /Stevens/ saved the train. Hence, Fentress didn't die.

But...there was that mention of being an alternate timeline, as flimsy as it is (in which case, Rutledge was also correct) and since in the "real" timeline, Rutledge stopped Goodwin from pulling the plug...

Either the ending is one big lie (the last "happy" memory of Stevens before his memory is stricken) or Ben Ripley and Duncan Jones bungled.

I would have been fine with it if it wasn't for the line of 'tell me the truth'. That one line, and the fact that Stevens is still in Fentress (did he just steal Fentress' girl in one morning!?) does cast a big cloud over the film. Still, I can't entirely condemn it. It gets people talking in debates. That is big accomplishment in today's film-land.


"I know you want to work for Mo Fuzz. And Mo Fuzz wants you to. But first, I'm going to need to you do something for me... on spec." - Mo Fuzz, Tapeheads, 1988
my scripts on ss : http://www.simplyscripts.net/cgi-bin/Blah/Blah.pl?m-1095531482/s-45/#num48
The Art!http://www.simplyscripts.net/cgi-bin/Blah/Blah.pl?b-knowyou/m-1190561532/s-105/#num106
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Dreamscale
Posted: August 8th, 2011, 7:38pm Report to Moderator
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Darren, I hear you.  I really do, and agree with you pretty much...

BUT

...remember, the Jake Gyllenhaal that we see as Fentress, is actually seen by those around him, including Michelle's character, as the same Fentress, as she saw every day on the train.  When he looks at himself in the mirror, he sees the real Fentress, like everyone else sees.

OK, you with me still?

So, what about this...the 8 minutes aren't actually up yet, when they stop and look at each other in the cool silver sculpture thing. Maybe, the reason he says to her, "let's just stay here for awhile", is because it's the last few seconds he'll be in Fentress' body, and he's aware of it?

See what I'm saying?

But then again, for the whole thing to work and/or make sense, wouldn't "they" have to have been able to get Fentress' body from the wreckage, to plug him into the computer program in the first place?  There wouldn't be anything left of anyone on that train, with a nuke of some kind going off and the huge, fiery explosion, involving 2 trains.  How would they even know who was on the train to start with?  There'd be next to nothing left.

So, IMO, you need to try to not over think things here.  It would have made more sense if at the end, it was the "real" Fentress with Michelle at the sculpture, but IMO, peeps would have been confused.

Thoughts?
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DarrenJamesSeeley
Posted: August 8th, 2011, 9:54pm Report to Moderator
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Quoted from Dreamscale
  How would they even know who was on the train to start with?  There'd be next to nothing left.


Thoughts?


The answer is that it is not a nuclear explosion, Jeff. They also know who is on the train due to identification and computer records. While there is no guarantee the bomber's ID would survive the blast, he left it behind hoping that it would and he would be presumed dead at least long enough until he carried out his next attack.

I should be clear that the ending itself is not terrible, It just raises a lot of questions.
But the better ending was to cut it off at a certain point.

It does not matter if everyone else sees Fentress or Stevens himself sees Fentress as his reflection. He's not Fentress.

And one other thing. Everyone over-analyzes. I can do it if I want :p



Quoted Text
Peeps would have ben confused


No, I disagree. It would have been playing by the rulebook that was established. (Unless, of course I'm right and the ending was a false, happy memory, although I'm glad it wasn't spelled out that way like last year's Repo Men...) The only folks it wouldn't make sense to is those types who feel that stuff like GI Joe Rise Of Cobra was a work of art.


"I know you want to work for Mo Fuzz. And Mo Fuzz wants you to. But first, I'm going to need to you do something for me... on spec." - Mo Fuzz, Tapeheads, 1988
my scripts on ss : http://www.simplyscripts.net/cgi-bin/Blah/Blah.pl?m-1095531482/s-45/#num48
The Art!http://www.simplyscripts.net/cgi-bin/Blah/Blah.pl?b-knowyou/m-1190561532/s-105/#num106
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George Willson
Posted: August 11th, 2011, 9:53am Report to Moderator
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I think one thing you're missing when it comes to the movie breaking its own rules is perspective. Characters see their world from one perspective: theirs. And while we want to instill a lot of consistency in our narratives, we also have to accept that there are going to be differences in perspective that cause contradictions. In the movie, the creator of the source code project says it works a certain way and cannot work any other way. You're taking this literally as if it cannot be any other way, but at the same time, since he designed it, he is giving us the rules AS HE UNDERSTANDS THEM. As far as he is concerned, it isn't real because he doesn't see it as working that way.

The ending comes out of an unexpected result. The rules cannot account for this since the person who gave us the rules did not know about it. The simple reasoning is that the source code deal actually does send him back in time and while it does create a paradox, he sent the woman a text from the time he was sent to, and she received it accordingly. It would seem that his personality must revert back to Fentress eventually, but it is also possible that once his character survived and the paradox began that his personality remained in the body it was transferred into. That's pretty common sci-fi fare.

I found the ending fine and a bit of a surprise since I fully expected it to end with the freeze-frame: happy yet bittersweet.


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