Source code is a 2011 science fiction mystery thriller film directed by Duncan Jones, written by Ben Ripley, and stars Jake Gyllenhaal, Michelle Monaghan, and Vera Farmiga. It follows an engineer who assists in rewriting source code after his boss becomes paranoid that hackers are trying to steal the source code of a large corporation’s software program called “Groundhog Day”.
Source Code was a movie that helped shape my generation’s ideas about what it means to be a hacker. It showed the best and the worst of this community, as well as gave me an appreciation for the power of computer programming.
Storyline:
I saw something profound in this film that we haven’t seen in other movies about hackers. This is a group of people who are fully willing to give up their lives for what they believe in. In 1995, an eight-minute bomb blast during a passenger train ride in Chicago kills three passengers and injures four others. Eight years later, Captain Colter Stevens is a soldier who has been trained to enter the memory of someone else who died to find out how they died.
Stevens is transferred into the computer simulation of a man named Dave who has just died because his family wishes to grieve privately. Unbeknownst to Dave’s family, many years before he died, he had been in a car accident after which his wife and child were gravely injured.
A year later Colter discovers that the company that developed this memory-transfer software allows him to download information from other people’s therapeutic programs by placing their thumbprints there. As time goes on, they can transfer entire train journeys of data into each other’s bodies in a bid to explain the recent deaths of millions.
As part of their plan, they ask Colter to transfer Conrad Vigman’s pill bottle into Dave’s memory and keep nothing happening. As Dave dies over and over again, he has become responsible for setting off his family members as well as killing them violently when he is transferred back into previous lives where things went awry from making decisions during early childhood.
After entering his memory, Stevens finds himself reliving the train bombing every day for eight years. He soon discovers that somebody is trying to stop him from finding out how he dies and why. He also discovers that the software that is preventing him from discovering the answer to his question is called “Groundhog Day”. Stevens finds out that somebody wants to stop him because they believe he will find a way to prevent future bombings in Chicago.
This movie was a box office million-dollar success grossing $140,921,291 domestically and over $244.1 million worldwide. A large part of its popularity is this community’s fascination with it rather than the film itself. For example.
in 2018 a Reddit post comparing different graphics cards measured 1093 upvotes compared to just 72 on Game Trailers or 290 upvotes in the image below making it one of the most popular Reddit posts ever. Reddit posts comparing graphics cards on various sites along with top comments that show how popular it is.
Set soon, 2023, “Source Code” is a science fiction thriller that explores the nature of identity and consciousness. In his first movie role, Jake Gyllenhaal plays a soldier who finds himself trapped inside someone else’s body, and must use all of his resources to survive. The cast also includes Jessica Alba, Zachary Quinto, John Hurt, and Michelle Monaghan. “Source Code” is written and directed by Duncan Jones.
“Source Code” follows a police officer (Stevens) who is killed in the line of duty. He wakes up on a train, handcuffed to another man (Frost). The man tells him that he has been kidnapped and must find out who killed him. His only help is the mysterious soldier, who tells Stevens that he must find “the one” to save them both on a train and do something simple like switching trains.
To make matters worse when they reach their destination transport board checking time comes along where Stevens will have to communicate with his future whereabouts for authorities at mission control (at El Paso airport/Wichita) even after being shot as well as be able to predict a target for the train to be stopped.
“Source Code” opens with Lt. Colter Stevens (Gyllenhaal) beside his young wife Jean, as he’s about to head off on an important mission of importance; escorting high-ranking government official Peter Cho back home from Los Angeles International Airport after receiving news, that the man was killed during transport when a bomb went off.
The film cuts to 25 minutes later and Stevens is now aboard the train, with only 10 seconds left until the bomb set off by Cho detonates; therefore letting him be transported in time if he makes it onto Room 1238. As a soldier at an unspecified facility near Terminal B at LAX, Lt Colter’s task is relatively simple: look like another passenger & switch trains while being chased.
Short Review:
Source Code received generally positive reviews from critics. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 81% based on 191 reviews with an average score of 7.3/10. The site’s critical consensus reads, “A well-paced thriller that’s driven by its intriguing premise, Source Code is largely a rare spectacle: an American film with wide international appeal.”
Metacritic assigned the film a weighted average score of 76 outpost5. The Village Voice liked it saying “Stevens’ performance carries the party and brings equal weight to both his strengths as an actor—practical but not overly virile; owlish without being cutesy; upright but a long way from heroic—and his flaws as an actor: He’s too taciturn, and the weight of control he keeps over Claire is evident in their interactions.”
Chicago Tribune rated it 3/4 saying “Stevens acquits himself very well. His seeming lack of emotion and earnestness has led some audiences to fault him for not pulling off Dean Caine credibly – but I think that’s unfair.”
Upon the film’s release, it received positive reviews. The Guardian rated it 4/5 saying “A smart, high-concept thriller that avoids all manner of mechanical mumbo jumbo for a multifaceted tale about destiny and sacrifice.”
The San Diego Film Critics Society voted Source Code as one of their Top 10 Films in 2009. Moviemistakes.com gave Source Code 5 out of 6 stars and called the film “a bold and challenging sci-fi thriller”. Thrillers.com said “Source Code is not merely entertaining; it’s a filmmaker’s work of art.” Roger Ebert responded positively to it on his blog.[36] It has been given a 91% rating by critics aggregator site Rotten Tomatoes.
The film score for Source Code was composed by James Newton Howard. The original song for the film, “The Man with All the Answers” (“Mubarak Dum Answered”) by Grant-Lee Phillips and Suzanne Vega—” based on a poem by Robert Hayden”—was nominated for an Academy Award in 2010.
For me Source Code was Richard Linklaters’ first real success as well featuring great performances from Jessica Alba & Jake Gyllenhaal two actors I do respect but not as much given their choices. The film is a very well-made thrill ride with some interesting and thought-provoking concepts that while successful, don’t quite fully resonate. This movie somewhat had clever writing & direction but at the same time just not “great” in my view.
I loved Source Code! I thought it was an amazing movie, and I think everyone should see it. It’s one of those movies that you won’t expect to be able to invest so much into it, yet you will end up loving that complexity. Ryan Gosling is great in Source Code.
He’s a perfect reflection of his character – he didn’t get any special training as an actor since 20th Century Fox already did the heavy lifting but still gave him some guidance and advice which ended up being incredibly helpful!
I think Source Code went above and beyond in this aspect because there truly is no other actor out there like him! I hope he gets nominated for his performance. Ryan Andrew English Gosling was the man behind this role of Lt. Colter Stevens an Air Force navigator on a ride he doesn’t want to take when a carefully orchestrated bomb kills front-runner Peter Cho (Dennis Haysbert) at LAX en route back from Washington Dulles.
Lt. Colter arrives in an alternate timeline with 90 minutes left on his mission: keeping Peter alive by reliving the last hour of his life as well as experiencing a terrorist bombing of LAX under controlled conditions while traveling across US territory twice until he is willing to die out in another dimension, but not wanting to sacrifice anyone else’s life – including Stevens’ own family that was suddenly targeted for murder!
While tripping from everyday gunfire on the streets of LA, an IT consultant for a telecommunications firm and his wife live blissfully ignorant to their hometown’s bloody legacy. Unknown to them Peter was once beaten by bullies in high school, which has manifested itself into grudges at each new encounter he has with locals – mostly because they call him “Dulles” or “ref” as opposed to initials.
Stars: 7/10 (I loved them!)
Conclusion: In 2011, one of the most anticipated movies of the year was Source Code. Directed by Duncan Jones, the film tells the story of a Chicago cop who is sent back in time to prevent an attack on a train. Source Code received mixed reviews from critics, but it still managed to earn over $80 million at the box office. It also won several awards including Best Actor for Jake Gyllenhaal and Best Action Movie for Screenplay (Story) and Original Score (for Michael Giacchino).
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