I'm glad I didn't read the script. I see where you're coming from. I'm the same way with the Harry Potter movies. I despise them because of how greatly they deviate, not for sake of plot or timing or pace, but pointless deviations.
That said, it makes me very happy that I did not read the script as I loved the film. Its unfortunate, though understandable, that you can't because you liked the script so much.
Normally, I don't read screenplays for films before they've come out. But the buzz was too substantial for me to ignore. And indeed, the script lived up to the hype.
In this case, it's virtually impossible for me to separate myself from the material. There's no way I could see the film or judge it on its own merits. It's like reading a great novel, then going to see the movie, and it's nowhere near as good. The internal comparison you make is unavoidable. You can separate the two and judge them both, but they're still intertwined.
You see, I went in ready to love it, because I loved the screenplay. The film stays pretty true to what those original intentions were, but deviates in such inexplicably misconceived ways, it's a jarring experience.
Put yourself in my shoes. Say you're a fan of Romeo and Juliet. You've read the play before, and you're familiar with how it goes. Then you go and watch a production of it. The acting's fine, the sets are completely respectable, but the story has been tweaked for completely illogical reasons. Romeo and Juliet already know each other, there's no love at first sight, and so on. You would be completely taken aback. That's what my experience was like watching Source Code. It was painful to watch.
As different as Baz Lurhman's Romeo and Juliet and Franco Zeffirelli's Romeo and Juliet are, I enjoyed both because they're both still Romeo and Juliet. The visions were different, but the very core of the story remained unchanged.
I understand where you guys are coming from, but I encourage you to read the script. The film, as it exists, is a relatively well-made movie. But it's nowhere near what it should have been. It's disappointing, because we've been deprived a better film.
I'm glad I didn't read the script. I see where you're coming from. I'm the same way with the Harry Potter movies. I despise them because of how greatly they deviate, not for sake of plot or timing or pace, but pointless deviations.
That said, it makes me very happy that I did not read the script as I loved the film. Its unfortunate, though understandable, that you can't because you liked the script so much.
I must interject in this thought provoking discussion and say that Michelle Monaghan is ridiculously cute. Whenever she smiled, I know every dude in the audience was like, "I need to gets some of that to come home to."
Just when i thought the time travel theme had been done to death in every form of entertainment Source Code comes along.Though it borrows a bit from 2 of my favorites
Quantum Leap and Groundhogs Day,its still an,involving,interesting an entertaining film.
Captain Colter Stevens (Jake Gyllenhaal) is jolted awake on a train and finds himself sitting across from a woman named Christina (Michelle Monaghan) they seem to be in mid conversation.He soon finds that his mind is somehow in the body of another man.
And faster than you can say identity crisis the train explodes.He awakens again but now in his own body inside a capsule strapped down.His only guides in this situation are
Captain Colleen Goodwin(Vera Farmiga) and a semi-mad scientist Dr. Rutledge(Jeffrey Wright) His mission stop the bomb on the train ,that will lead to more bombings,and he has 8 minutes to do so.
Director Duncan Jones is able to keep 3 balls of plot in the air,the mystery of who Colter is,an action adventure,and a love story.
Gyllenhaal and Monaghan, have good chemistry,and this makes their love story believable,i immediately wanted to know how long have they known each other?,is this a building relationship?
Repetitive sequences in a film can be sometimes annoying,but Jones easily sums up the sequences so the story can move along.
I have noticed in some films as of late...they dont know when to end!!
There are some good shocks and twists near the end of the film but i would have preferred an edgier ending.
Source Code is still a sharp film and makes one ponder,what he or she would do in their last minutes of life if they had a choice.
Scale of 1-10 an 8
I just figured out the story, here goes, PLEASE COMMENT:
[BLACKOUT]Each mission that Jake (Coulter Stevens) get's, he is entered into an alternative reality. So, once the mission is complete, he convinces Goodwin to release (unplugg) him so that he is released into the body of the person he is inhabiting. But just before he is released, he texts/contacts Goodwin each time, giving her the two clues and to assist the Coulter Stevens of that reality.
- Lilly in a evening dress
- In her hand were five playing cards
That is the text that Coulter gives to Goodwin, the two clues that will jog the Coulter's memory in the current reality and to tell him "EVERYTHING WILL BE OK".
So at the end of the movie, we are pressuming that this new reality, Coulter Stevens will be told the two clues and will be assisted by Goodwin to be released into another reality of where a new threat will be averted.
[/blackout]
I hate to be a negative Nancy. But alas, that is my fate.
I read the script for the film several months ago and absolutely adored it. But having seen the movie, I'm at a loss for words as to what anyone was thinking when they decided to do a re-write on this thing.
Ben Ripley's original script, the one that sold, is a near-perfect sci-fi thriller. And while much of the film stays true to the basic elements of the script, there were several inexplicable changes made that, to me, completely ruined what made the original draft great. In my opinion, had you not made a single change from the original version of Source Code, the film would've been infinitely superior and just as marketable.
Why? Well...
The biggest problem is Christina. In the script, she's just a stranger to Sean Fentress. She has no idea who he is. So when Colter begins freaking out on the train, she's simply puzzled by him. Her character is cold and aloof, yet fascinating. And ultimately, Colter becomes intrigued by her.
What makes their relationship work in the script is that there's a journey to it. An expedition of discovery. Colter wants to learn more about her, but because of the time constraints he only gets bits and pieces of information. So every time he goes back into Source Code, everything they've built together in those few moments is reset and he has to start from scratch again. So by the end of the script, once he's in a position to finally save her and stop the bomb, he's developed such an insight and connection to her that he can actually convince her to come away with him, even though he's a total stranger to her. In short, he's EARNED her.
But in the film, that dynamic is completely blown apart (pun intended).
She already knows Sean Fentress. They have a history. So Colter manipulates their familiarity right from the start. She's willing to go have coffee with him for no other reason than "There's something different about you today." Sure, you could argue that it still works, especially if you hadn't read the script. But the original path of their relationship was so much more meaningful because there was a journey to it. An actual arc.
Like any great story, there's always an initial trajectory that is changed through complication. In the script, Colter is assigned to find the bomber. That's his mission. That's what he WANTS to do, and that's what he TRIES to do. Because after all, he's still a soldier following orders. But as he delves deeper into Christina, he suddenly realizes that saving her is more important than the mission. His initial trajectory is changed by the emotional complication of him falling in love with her. And it's not just because she's cute and smiles a lot, but because she has fears, and insecurities and flaws that he discovers over time.
In the film, there's no transition to this. Colter is assigned to find the bomb, but before he's even really begun his investigation, he's already trying to rescue Christina. It's such an unnecessary change that does nothing but truncate the development of these two characters.
Personally, I think this project is an encapsulation of everything that's wrong with Hollywood today. Here was a smart, thrilling sci-fi script with a strong emotional core, that was completely butchered for reasons that escape me. Blatant, inexplicable changes to core story elements that served no real purpose beyond robbing the script of much of its depth. It's a disheartening experience.
And a couple more thoughts:
Let me say something about the direction. I understand the Hitchcockian approach Jones was trying to take, but I don't think he really captured the right style for the story. The original script felt like a tight, tense, and grounded sci-fi thriller. Something Paul Greengrass could've nailed.
The music in this film treaded way too close to De Palma levels of bombast. Source Code isn't Inception. It's not a grand film in scope. It dealt with a very contained and very personal series of emotions. And stylistically, I think Jones completely missed the mark.
But I digress. Let me get back to Christina.
The thing I love about the script is how it naturally shifted its focus from finding the bomber to stopping the bomb. Again, I go back to the idea of an initial trajectory being altered by complication. In the script, the main focus of the first act is almost solely on the mission and figuring out what the hell is going on. Unlike in the film, where Colter almost immediately abandons his assignment for the sake of saving Christina, and for no other reason than "Well, she's a pretty girl."
Colter is supposed to be a soldier. And in the script, you can see that. At the beginning, he's very much in line with Source Code's goal: find the bomber. He actually acts like the trained officer he's supposed to be. But as things progress, he begins to see these people as just that: real people. He falls in love with Christina for who she is, and his humanity forces him to change his goal. Instead of simply finding the bomber, he becomes determined to stop the bomb itself.
This progression is handled with far more precision in the script than it is in the film. And that's ultimately why I find the movie so disappointing. These were changes for the sake of changes. The script works because it's a fast paced, relentlessly tense series of questions. You're constantly guessing. There's a sense of disorientation that grips you.
I refuse to believe time was an issue. If it was, then what was the point of all those unnecessary aerial shots? See, I knew the film was going to have problems from the opening frame. The brilliance of Ripley's original draft is that we're immediately dropped into the situation. The very first image is Colter waking up in a complete daze. He has no idea where he is, and thus WE have no idea where he is. Just as Colter is disoriented, WE'RE disoriented. That opening credits sequence took so much mystery and intrigue out of the script's original opening.
I might sound like I'm nitpicking, but that's how much I loved the original script. It's not that it was a thematically profound masterpiece. It was just a near-perfectly executed thriller. And the changes made [save for making Goodwin a woman] were all depressingly pointless.
In short, those who haven't read the script are missing out on what got this project picked up in the first place. I can't for the life of me begin to understand how anyone could think these changes were sensible. It was painful to watch.
I 100% agree with you. I liked the whole movie, except for the relationship between Coulter (Sean) and Christina. [blackout]I feel like after Coulter enters into Sean's body, he is using the fact (not intentionally) that Christina knows him to get with her. Talk about eliminating a few years of getting to know a person before hooking up. I mean when she says that she has been waiting for a long time for "Sean" to ask her out for coffee, I was like wait a minute, you are being dooped.
I actually do like the idea of her not knowing who Sean is, it makes more since and the love story more real, not manipultive[/blackout]
I just figured out the story, here goes, PLEASE COMMENT:
[BLACKOUT]Each mission that Jake (Coulter Stevens) get's, he is entered into an alternative reality. So, once the mission is complete, he convinces Goodwin to release (unplugg) him so that he is released into the body of the person he is inhabiting. But just before he is released, he texts/contacts Goodwin each time, giving her the two clues and to assist the Coulter Stevens of that reality.
- Lilly in a evening dress
- In her hand were five playing cards
That is the text that Coulter gives to Goodwin, the two clues that will jog the Coulter's memory in the current reality and to tell him "EVERYTHING WILL BE OK".
So at the end of the movie, we are pressuming that this new reality, Coulter Stevens will be told the two clues and will be assisted by Goodwin to be released into another reality of where a new threat will be averted.
[/BLACKOUT]
Kiss Kiss Bang Bang was still my favorite role of hers, so I'd definitely support this.
I didn't think she looked any different in this movie than she did in most of her other movies, though (aside from KKBB, since she was kinda blonde-ish in that).
Also, I've had this screenplay for ages and put off reading it until I saw the film. Reading Cmill's comments, I'm glad I did, because I loved this movie and would hate to have ruined it by setting different expectations for it to fail to reach. So hearing that the movie didn't live up to the script just gives me a great script to look forward to reading now. t:
I just figured out the story, here goes, PLEASE COMMENT:
[BLACKOUT]Each mission that Jake (Coulter Stevens) get's, he is entered into an alternative reality. So, once the mission is complete, he convinces Goodwin to release (unplugg) him so that he is released into the body of the person he is inhabiting. But just before he is released, he texts/contacts Goodwin each time, giving her the two clues and to assist the Coulter Stevens of that reality.
- Lilly in a evening dress
- In her hand were five playing cards
That is the text that Coulter gives to Goodwin, the two clues that will jog the Coulter's memory in the current reality and to tell him "EVERYTHING WILL BE OK".
So at the end of the movie, we are pressuming that this new reality, Coulter Stevens will be told the two clues and will be assisted by Goodwin to be released into another reality of where a new threat will be averted.
[/blackout]
I think you're confusing part of the movie there. The text Coulter sent to Goodwin were the specifically coded "memory threads" designed to activate/rejog the memory of the applicant. They weren't clues of anything.
It was proof that the alternate timeline is real, as no one would know of those phrases except those involved in the Source Code project.
Probably the best movie I've seen in the past few months. 9/10.
I was a huge fan of the show Quantum Leap, so this movie really had me interested. Like someone said earlier, it had a mix of Groundhog Day and Quantum Leap in it. I definitely recommend this movie.
Saw the movie over the weekend. I have to say that I'm really impressed with Duncan Jones as a director. Moon was fantastic and now with the Source Code, he's really gaining my respect. As a fan of Quantum Leap as well, I squealed with excitement when I saw Scott Bakula.
"And so, Jake Gyllenhaal finds himself leaping from life to life, striving to put right what once went wrong, and hoping each time that his next leap, will be the leap home."
LOL
The movie, IMHO, hit all the right points narratively and was a fun ride. What more can you ask for? I also have a soft spot for these types of Sci-fi movies.
I mean it was entertaining enough, but many times it was just boring. in terms of medium budget action/sci-fi thriller type films, Limitless was a LOT more enjoyable and better acted I thought.
Gyllenhaal's acting when he talks to Sam Beckett on the phone was superb. The performances were pretty good overall but Russel Peters was just annoying and the whole oh look at all this life bla bla hippy cheese crap. That really put me off cuz it was like hitting the audience over the head with a hammer with how stupidly obvious that particular theme of the film was. They should have just really tightened up on the story and pace and just rocketed through.
So far I enjoyed Rango and Limitless a HELL of a lot more than this film
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