Source Code (film)
Encyclopedia
Source Code is a 2011 American science fiction
-techno-thriller
film directed by Duncan Jones
, written by Ben Ripley
, starring Jake Gyllenhaal
, Michelle Monaghan
, Vera Farmiga
, Russell Peters
and Jeffrey Wright. The film had its world premiere on March 11, 2011 at SXSW
, and was released by Summit Entertainment
on April 1, in North America and Europe.
), last aware of being on a mission in Afghanistan, wakes up on a commuter train traveling to Chicago. He finds that to the world around him – including to his traveling partner Christina Warren (Michelle Monaghan
) and the bathroom mirror – he appears as Sean Fentress, a school teacher. As he comes to grips with this revelation, the train car explodes, killing everyone aboard and derailing it and a tanker train traveling in the other direction.
Stevens regains consciousness inside an unfamiliar cockpit. Through a screen, Air Force
Captain Colleen Goodwin (Vera Farmiga
) verifies Stevens' identity. She explains Stevens is in the "Source Code", an experimental device created by Dr. Rutledge (Jeffrey Wright), scientist for Beleaguered Castle (a military unit named after the card game
), that allows its user to experience the last eight minutes of another compatible person's life within an alternate timeline. Stevens is being asked to use Source Code to discover the location of a bomb aboard the train and identify the bomber who detonated it. Goodwin explains that the train explosion occurred that morning, and was a warning by the bomber as a precursor to a larger dirty bomb
that will be detonated in downtown Chicago. Though Stevens' actions cannot change the past and save the lives aboard the train, identifying the bomber in the alternate timeline will prevent the deaths of millions more in this one.
Stevens enters the Source Code several more times and continues to discard passengers suspected to be the bomber, as well as developing increasingly strong romantic feelings and empathy for Warren. Within these jumps, he learns that these events occurred two months after an incident while on duty in Afghanistan that reportedly killed him. Once he discovers this, he verbally accosts Goodwin for more information. She is forced to explain that the remains of his body are on life-support at the Source Code facility while his mind is hooked up to its computer systems
, the cockpit being a mental projection of his own mind to cope with the experience. Angered to discover this, Stevens makes a deal to complete the mission, demanding that they terminate his life support after it is completed, to which Dr. Rutledge agrees.
Back in the Source Code, Stevens eventually identifies a young man, Derek Frost (Michael Arden
), as the bomber, and the rented white van that he will use to convey the dirty bomb into the center of town. On his return, his information is successfully used by the military to capture Frost before he can trigger the bomb in Chicago. Stevens is praised as a hero, but in private, Rutledge tells Goodwin to renege on the deal and instead wipe Stevens' memory, so he can be used again the next time there is such an incident. In talking to Goodwin, Stevens realizes that the promise has been violated, and convinces Goodwin to let him return to Source Code once more after which she will disable his life support against Rutledge's orders.
Once back aboard the train, Stevens disarms the bomb. Stevens then subdues Frost, and handcuffs him to a railing. Stevens calls the authorities to identify Frost and inform them of the location of the dirty bomb. Stevens takes Frost's phone to send an email to Goodwin describing the incident. He then calls his estranged father under the guise of a fellow soldier, mending the emotional distance from their past. He challenges an embittered comic (Russell Peters
) to perform a stand-up routine on the train, perpetuating laughter throughout the entire train car, and then Stevens takes Warren aside. Asking her what she would do if she knew that she only had seconds left to live, Stevens begins to kiss her as his last few seconds run out. As promised, at this exact moment, Goodwin disables his life-support — the scene reveals his actual, physical body as severely mutilated and comatose. Time freezes, but then Stevens is surprised to find himself finishing the kiss, still aboard the train with Christina, well beyond the eight minutes. In a flash of understanding, Stevens realizes he remains in the alternate timeline of the un-bombed train. The train arrives safely in Chicago, and he and Warren ditch work to walk together and discuss their future.
Later that morning, Goodwin arrives for work at Nellis Air Force Base
and receives the email sent by Stevens, just as news breaks of a failed bombing attempt in Chicago. The email explains that the Source Code effectively allows the user to change history within alternate timelines. Stevens' email ends with him telling Goodwin that when his alternate self in this timeline (comatose and on life support) is used in a future Source Code mission, Goodwin should help him and tell him that "everything is going to be OK".
, the boy depicted in the 2003 made-for-television documentary The Nuclear Boy Scout, was the inspiration for the antagonist Derek Frost. In an article published by the Writers Guild of America
, screenwriter Ben Ripley
is described as providing the original pitch to the studios responsible for producing Source Code:
After seeing Moon
, Gyllenhaal lobbied for Jones to direct Source Code; Jones liked the fast-paced script; as he later said, "there were all sorts of challenges and puzzles and I kind of like solving puzzles, so it was kind of fun for me to work out how to achieve all these difficult things that were set up in the script."
In the ending scene, Jake Gyllenhaal
's and Michelle Monaghan
's characters are seen walking through Millennium Park
, and make their way to the Cloud Gate
. In a 2011 interview, Gyllenhaal discussed how director Duncan Jones
felt the structure was a metaphor for the movie's subject matter, and aimed for it to feature at the beginning and end of the movie.
began on March 1, 2010 in Montreal
, Canada
and ended on April 29, 2010. Several scenes were shot in Chicago, Illinois, specifically at Millennium Park
and the Main Building at the Illinois Institute of Technology
, although the sign showing the name of the latter, in the intersection of 31st Street and S LaSalle Street was edited out. In the ending scene, Jake Gyllenhaal
's and Michelle Monaghan
's characters are seen walking through the park, making their way to the Cloud Gate
structure.
. In July 2010, the film was in the visual effects
stage of post-production. Jones had confirmed that the film's soundtrack would be composed by Clint Mansell
, in his second collaboration with the composer. However, it was later announced that Mansell would no longer score the movie's soundtrack due to time constraints, and he was replaced by Chris P. Bacon
.
Source Code was released in theaters on April 1, 2011. In the United States and Canada, Source Code was released theatrically in 2,961 conventional theaters. The film grossed $5,053,494 during its opening day on April 1, 2011, with midnight screenings in 2,961 locations. Overall the film made $14,812,094 and debuted at #2 on its opening weekend.
Source Code has received critical acclaim by reviewers. Review aggregate Rotten Tomatoes
reports that 92% of critics have given the film a positive review, based on 225 reviews, with an average score of 7.5/10. Rotten Tomatoes summarizes the critical consensus thusly: "Finding the human story amidst the action, director Duncan Jones and charming Jake Gyllenhaal craft a smart, satisfying sci-fi thriller." Metacritic
has awarded the film an average score 74/100 based on 41 reviews. Critics have compared Source Code with the 1993 film Groundhog Day
, or called it a "cross between Groundhog Day and Murder on the Orient Express
." Arizona Republic film critic Bill Goodykoontz says comparing Source Code to Groundhog Day is doing a disservice to Source Code enthralling "mind game."
Richard Roeper
of the Chicago Sun-Times
called the film "Confounding, exhilarating, challenging – and the best movie I've seen so far in 2011." Roger Ebert
gave the film 3.5 stars out of 4, calling it "an ingenious thriller" where "you forgive the preposterous because it takes you to the perplexing." Kenneth Turan
of the Los Angeles Times
called Ben Ripley's script "cleverly constructed" and a film "crisply directed by Duncan Jones
", while also praising the "cast with the determination and ability to really sell its story." CNN called Ripley's script "ingenious" and the film "as authoritative an exercise in fractured storytelling as Christopher Nolan
's Memento"; Gyllenhaal is "more compelling here than he's been in a long time." IGN gave it a 2.5/5, saying "Gyllenhaal brings sincerity and warmth to his role, but his conviction only helps the movie so far before it ultimately buckles under the weight of its plot mechanics."
and Blu-ray Disc
simultaneously in the US on July 26, 2011, with the UK release on DVD and Blu-ray Disc (as well as a combined DVD/Blu-ray Disc package) on August 15, 2011. In the UK, there was also a DVD released featuring a 3D cover.
Science fiction film
Science fiction film is a film genre that uses science fiction: speculative, science-based depictions of phenomena that are not necessarily accepted by mainstream science, such as extraterrestrial life forms, alien worlds, extrasensory perception, and time travel, often along with futuristic...
-techno-thriller
Techno-thriller
Techno-thrillers are a hybrid genre, drawing subject matter generally from spy/action thrillers, fantasy/war novels, and science fiction...
film directed by Duncan Jones
Duncan Jones
Duncan Zowie Haywood Jones , also known as Zowie Bowie is an English film director, best known for directing the science fiction films Moon and Source Code .-Childhood and family life:...
, written by Ben Ripley
Ben Ripley
Ben Ripley is an American screenwriter best known for writing the science-fiction thriller Source Code directed by Duncan Jones. Ripley is a graduate of Stanford University and the University of Southern California's USC School of Cinema-Television....
, starring Jake Gyllenhaal
Jake Gyllenhaal
Jacob Benjamin "Jake" Gyllenhaal is an American actor. The son of director Stephen Gyllenhaal and screenwriter Naomi Foner, Gyllenhaal began acting at age ten...
, Michelle Monaghan
Michelle Monaghan
Michelle Lynn Monaghan is an American actress known for her roles in Mission: Impossible III, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, Gone Baby Gone, Made of Honor, The Heartbreak Kid, Eagle Eye, and Source Code.-Early life:...
, Vera Farmiga
Vera Farmiga
Vera Ann Farmiga is an American actress and director. Farmiga made her film debut in the 1998 drama thriller Return to Paradise. This was followed by supporting roles in the 2000 romantic film Autumn in New York and the 2001 television series UC: Undercover...
, Russell Peters
Russell Peters
Russell Dominic Peters is an Indo-Canadian comedian, actor and disc jockey. He began performing in Toronto in 1989 and has been nominated for four Gemini Awards.-Early life :...
and Jeffrey Wright. The film had its world premiere on March 11, 2011 at SXSW
South by Southwest
South by Southwest is an Austin, Texas based company dedicated to planning conferences, trade shows, festivals and other events. Their current roster of annual events include: SXSW Music, SXSW Film, SXSW Interactive, SXSWedu, and SXSWeco and take place every spring in Austin, Texas, United States...
, and was released by Summit Entertainment
Summit Entertainment
Summit Entertainment LLC is an independent film studio headquartered in Santa Monica, California with international offices in London.-History:...
on April 1, in North America and Europe.
Plot
Army helicopter pilot Colter Stevens (Jake GyllenhaalJake Gyllenhaal
Jacob Benjamin "Jake" Gyllenhaal is an American actor. The son of director Stephen Gyllenhaal and screenwriter Naomi Foner, Gyllenhaal began acting at age ten...
), last aware of being on a mission in Afghanistan, wakes up on a commuter train traveling to Chicago. He finds that to the world around him – including to his traveling partner Christina Warren (Michelle Monaghan
Michelle Monaghan
Michelle Lynn Monaghan is an American actress known for her roles in Mission: Impossible III, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, Gone Baby Gone, Made of Honor, The Heartbreak Kid, Eagle Eye, and Source Code.-Early life:...
) and the bathroom mirror – he appears as Sean Fentress, a school teacher. As he comes to grips with this revelation, the train car explodes, killing everyone aboard and derailing it and a tanker train traveling in the other direction.
Stevens regains consciousness inside an unfamiliar cockpit. Through a screen, Air Force
Air force
An air force, also known in some countries as an air army, is in the broadest sense, the national military organization that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an army, navy or...
Captain Colleen Goodwin (Vera Farmiga
Vera Farmiga
Vera Ann Farmiga is an American actress and director. Farmiga made her film debut in the 1998 drama thriller Return to Paradise. This was followed by supporting roles in the 2000 romantic film Autumn in New York and the 2001 television series UC: Undercover...
) verifies Stevens' identity. She explains Stevens is in the "Source Code", an experimental device created by Dr. Rutledge (Jeffrey Wright), scientist for Beleaguered Castle (a military unit named after the card game
Beleaguered Castle
Beleaguered Castle is a solitaire card game played with a deck of 52 playing cards. It is one of the card games touted as "Freecell without cells" because its game play is somehow akin to the popular solitaire computer game but without extra empty spaces to maneuver...
), that allows its user to experience the last eight minutes of another compatible person's life within an alternate timeline. Stevens is being asked to use Source Code to discover the location of a bomb aboard the train and identify the bomber who detonated it. Goodwin explains that the train explosion occurred that morning, and was a warning by the bomber as a precursor to a larger dirty bomb
Dirty bomb
A dirty bomb is a speculative radiological weapon that combines radioactive material with conventional explosives. The purpose of the weapon is to contaminate the area around the explosion with radioactive material, hence the attribute "dirty"....
that will be detonated in downtown Chicago. Though Stevens' actions cannot change the past and save the lives aboard the train, identifying the bomber in the alternate timeline will prevent the deaths of millions more in this one.
Stevens enters the Source Code several more times and continues to discard passengers suspected to be the bomber, as well as developing increasingly strong romantic feelings and empathy for Warren. Within these jumps, he learns that these events occurred two months after an incident while on duty in Afghanistan that reportedly killed him. Once he discovers this, he verbally accosts Goodwin for more information. She is forced to explain that the remains of his body are on life-support at the Source Code facility while his mind is hooked up to its computer systems
Brain in a vat
In philosophy, the brain in a vat is an element used in a variety of thought experiments intended to draw out certain features of our ideas of knowledge, reality, truth, mind, and meaning...
, the cockpit being a mental projection of his own mind to cope with the experience. Angered to discover this, Stevens makes a deal to complete the mission, demanding that they terminate his life support after it is completed, to which Dr. Rutledge agrees.
Back in the Source Code, Stevens eventually identifies a young man, Derek Frost (Michael Arden
Michael Arden
Michael Jerrod Moore , also known as Michael Arden, is an American stage actor, singer, and composer. He was born in Midland, Texas.-Early and personal life:...
), as the bomber, and the rented white van that he will use to convey the dirty bomb into the center of town. On his return, his information is successfully used by the military to capture Frost before he can trigger the bomb in Chicago. Stevens is praised as a hero, but in private, Rutledge tells Goodwin to renege on the deal and instead wipe Stevens' memory, so he can be used again the next time there is such an incident. In talking to Goodwin, Stevens realizes that the promise has been violated, and convinces Goodwin to let him return to Source Code once more after which she will disable his life support against Rutledge's orders.
Once back aboard the train, Stevens disarms the bomb. Stevens then subdues Frost, and handcuffs him to a railing. Stevens calls the authorities to identify Frost and inform them of the location of the dirty bomb. Stevens takes Frost's phone to send an email to Goodwin describing the incident. He then calls his estranged father under the guise of a fellow soldier, mending the emotional distance from their past. He challenges an embittered comic (Russell Peters
Russell Peters
Russell Dominic Peters is an Indo-Canadian comedian, actor and disc jockey. He began performing in Toronto in 1989 and has been nominated for four Gemini Awards.-Early life :...
) to perform a stand-up routine on the train, perpetuating laughter throughout the entire train car, and then Stevens takes Warren aside. Asking her what she would do if she knew that she only had seconds left to live, Stevens begins to kiss her as his last few seconds run out. As promised, at this exact moment, Goodwin disables his life-support — the scene reveals his actual, physical body as severely mutilated and comatose. Time freezes, but then Stevens is surprised to find himself finishing the kiss, still aboard the train with Christina, well beyond the eight minutes. In a flash of understanding, Stevens realizes he remains in the alternate timeline of the un-bombed train. The train arrives safely in Chicago, and he and Warren ditch work to walk together and discuss their future.
Later that morning, Goodwin arrives for work at Nellis Air Force Base
Nellis Air Force Base
Nellis Air Force Base is a United States Air Force Base, located approximately northeast of Las Vegas, Nevada. It is under the jurisdiction of Air Combat Command .-Overview:...
and receives the email sent by Stevens, just as news breaks of a failed bombing attempt in Chicago. The email explains that the Source Code effectively allows the user to change history within alternate timelines. Stevens' email ends with him telling Goodwin that when his alternate self in this timeline (comatose and on life support) is used in a future Source Code mission, Goodwin should help him and tell him that "everything is going to be OK".
Cast
- Jake GyllenhaalJake GyllenhaalJacob Benjamin "Jake" Gyllenhaal is an American actor. The son of director Stephen Gyllenhaal and screenwriter Naomi Foner, Gyllenhaal began acting at age ten...
as Cpt. Colter Stevens - Michelle MonaghanMichelle MonaghanMichelle Lynn Monaghan is an American actress known for her roles in Mission: Impossible III, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, Gone Baby Gone, Made of Honor, The Heartbreak Kid, Eagle Eye, and Source Code.-Early life:...
as Christina Warren - Vera FarmigaVera FarmigaVera Ann Farmiga is an American actress and director. Farmiga made her film debut in the 1998 drama thriller Return to Paradise. This was followed by supporting roles in the 2000 romantic film Autumn in New York and the 2001 television series UC: Undercover...
as Cpt. Colleen Goodwin - Jeffrey Wright as Dr. Rutledge
- Russell PetersRussell PetersRussell Dominic Peters is an Indo-Canadian comedian, actor and disc jockey. He began performing in Toronto in 1989 and has been nominated for four Gemini Awards.-Early life :...
as Max Denoff - Cas Anvar as Hazmi
- Michael ArdenMichael ArdenMichael Jerrod Moore , also known as Michael Arden, is an American stage actor, singer, and composer. He was born in Midland, Texas.-Early and personal life:...
as Derek Frost - Scott BakulaScott BakulaScott Stewart Bakula is an American actor, known for his role as Sam Beckett in the television series Quantum Leap, for which he won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Television Series Drama in 1991 and was nominated for four Emmy Awards. He also had a prominent role as Captain Jonathan...
as Donald Stevens, Colter's father - Frédérick De Grandpré as Sean Fentress
Pre-production
David HahnDavid Hahn
David Charles Hahn , also called the "Radioactive Boy Scout" or the "Nuclear Boy Scout", is an American who attempted to build a homemade breeder nuclear reactor in 1994, at age 17. A scout in the Boy Scouts of America, Hahn conducted his experiments in secret in a backyard shed at his mother's...
, the boy depicted in the 2003 made-for-television documentary The Nuclear Boy Scout, was the inspiration for the antagonist Derek Frost. In an article published by the Writers Guild of America
Writers Guild of America
The Writers Guild of America is a generic term referring to the joint efforts of two different US labor unions:* The Writers Guild of America, East , representing TV and film writers East of the Mississippi....
, screenwriter Ben Ripley
Ben Ripley
Ben Ripley is an American screenwriter best known for writing the science-fiction thriller Source Code directed by Duncan Jones. Ripley is a graduate of Stanford University and the University of Southern California's USC School of Cinema-Television....
is described as providing the original pitch to the studios responsible for producing Source Code:
After seeing Moon
Moon (film)
Moon is a 2009 British science fiction drama film about a man who experiences a personal crisis as he nears the end of a three-year solitary stint mining helium-3 on the far side of the Earth's moon. It is the feature debut of director Duncan Jones. Sam Rockwell stars as the employee Sam Bell, and...
, Gyllenhaal lobbied for Jones to direct Source Code; Jones liked the fast-paced script; as he later said, "there were all sorts of challenges and puzzles and I kind of like solving puzzles, so it was kind of fun for me to work out how to achieve all these difficult things that were set up in the script."
In the ending scene, Jake Gyllenhaal
Jake Gyllenhaal
Jacob Benjamin "Jake" Gyllenhaal is an American actor. The son of director Stephen Gyllenhaal and screenwriter Naomi Foner, Gyllenhaal began acting at age ten...
's and Michelle Monaghan
Michelle Monaghan
Michelle Lynn Monaghan is an American actress known for her roles in Mission: Impossible III, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, Gone Baby Gone, Made of Honor, The Heartbreak Kid, Eagle Eye, and Source Code.-Early life:...
's characters are seen walking through Millennium Park
Millennium Park
Millennium Park is a public park located in the Loop community area of Chicago in Illinois, USA and originally intended to celebrate the millennium. It is a prominent civic center near the city's Lake Michigan shoreline that covers a section of northwestern Grant Park. The area was previously...
, and make their way to the Cloud Gate
Cloud Gate
Cloud Gate, a public sculpture by Indian-born British artist Anish Kapoor, is the centerpiece of the AT&T Plaza in Millennium Park within the Loop community area of Chicago, Illinois, United States. The sculpture and AT&T Plaza are located on top of Park Grill, between the Chase Promenade and...
. In a 2011 interview, Gyllenhaal discussed how director Duncan Jones
Duncan Jones
Duncan Zowie Haywood Jones , also known as Zowie Bowie is an English film director, best known for directing the science fiction films Moon and Source Code .-Childhood and family life:...
felt the structure was a metaphor for the movie's subject matter, and aimed for it to feature at the beginning and end of the movie.
Filming
Principal photographyPrincipal photography
thumb|300px|Film production on location in [[Newark, New Jersey]].Principal photography is the phase of film production in which the movie is filmed, with actors on set and cameras rolling, as distinct from pre-production and post-production....
began on March 1, 2010 in Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
and ended on April 29, 2010. Several scenes were shot in Chicago, Illinois, specifically at Millennium Park
Millennium Park
Millennium Park is a public park located in the Loop community area of Chicago in Illinois, USA and originally intended to celebrate the millennium. It is a prominent civic center near the city's Lake Michigan shoreline that covers a section of northwestern Grant Park. The area was previously...
and the Main Building at the Illinois Institute of Technology
Illinois Institute of Technology
Illinois Institute of Technology, commonly called Illinois Tech or IIT, is a private Ph.D.-granting university located in Chicago, Illinois, with programs in engineering, science, psychology, architecture, business, communications, industrial technology, information technology, design, and law...
, although the sign showing the name of the latter, in the intersection of 31st Street and S LaSalle Street was edited out. In the ending scene, Jake Gyllenhaal
Jake Gyllenhaal
Jacob Benjamin "Jake" Gyllenhaal is an American actor. The son of director Stephen Gyllenhaal and screenwriter Naomi Foner, Gyllenhaal began acting at age ten...
's and Michelle Monaghan
Michelle Monaghan
Michelle Lynn Monaghan is an American actress known for her roles in Mission: Impossible III, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, Gone Baby Gone, Made of Honor, The Heartbreak Kid, Eagle Eye, and Source Code.-Early life:...
's characters are seen walking through the park, making their way to the Cloud Gate
Cloud Gate
Cloud Gate, a public sculpture by Indian-born British artist Anish Kapoor, is the centerpiece of the AT&T Plaza in Millennium Park within the Loop community area of Chicago, Illinois, United States. The sculpture and AT&T Plaza are located on top of Park Grill, between the Chase Promenade and...
structure.
Post-production
Editing took place in Los AngelesLos Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
. In July 2010, the film was in the visual effects
Visual effects
Visual effects are the various processes by which imagery is created and/or manipulated outside the context of a live action shoot. Visual effects involve the integration of live-action footage and generated imagery to create environments which look realistic, but would be dangerous, costly, or...
stage of post-production. Jones had confirmed that the film's soundtrack would be composed by Clint Mansell
Clint Mansell
Clinton Darryl "Clint" Mansell, is an English musician, composer, and former lead singer and guitarist of the band Pop Will Eat Itself....
, in his second collaboration with the composer. However, it was later announced that Mansell would no longer score the movie's soundtrack due to time constraints, and he was replaced by Chris P. Bacon
Chris P. Bacon
Chris P. Bacon is a film and television composer living in Los Angeles, California.He scored the films Angels Fall and Blue Smoke, with fellow composer Stuart Michael Thomas.-Filmography:2005...
.
Box office performance
| Film | Release date | Box office revenue | Box office ranking | Budget | Reference | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States | United States | International | Worldwide | All time United States | All time worldwide | |||
| Source Code | April 2011 | $54,712,227 | $68,566,391 | $123,278,618 | #1095 | Unknown | $32,000,000 | |
Source Code was released in theaters on April 1, 2011. In the United States and Canada, Source Code was released theatrically in 2,961 conventional theaters. The film grossed $5,053,494 during its opening day on April 1, 2011, with midnight screenings in 2,961 locations. Overall the film made $14,812,094 and debuted at #2 on its opening weekend.
Critical reception
| Film | Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance... |
Metacritic Metacritic Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,... |
Entertainment Weekly Entertainment Weekly Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture... |
||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| All Critics | Top Critics | Audience | |||
| Source Code | 92% (225 reviews) | 92% (24 reviews) | 81% (97,010 reviews) | 74/100 (41 reviews) | B+ |
Source Code has received critical acclaim by reviewers. Review aggregate Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
reports that 92% of critics have given the film a positive review, based on 225 reviews, with an average score of 7.5/10. Rotten Tomatoes summarizes the critical consensus thusly: "Finding the human story amidst the action, director Duncan Jones and charming Jake Gyllenhaal craft a smart, satisfying sci-fi thriller." Metacritic
Metacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
has awarded the film an average score 74/100 based on 41 reviews. Critics have compared Source Code with the 1993 film Groundhog Day
Groundhog Day (film)
Groundhog Day is a 1993 American comedy film directed by Harold Ramis, starring Bill Murray and Andie MacDowell. It was written by Ramis and Danny Rubin, based on a story by Rubin....
, or called it a "cross between Groundhog Day and Murder on the Orient Express
Murder on the Orient Express
Murder on the Orient Express is a work of detective fiction by Agatha Christie featuring the Belgian detective Hercule Poirot.It was first published in the United Kingdom by the Collins Crime Club on January 1, 1934 and in the US by Dodd, Mead and Company later in the same year under the title of...
." Arizona Republic film critic Bill Goodykoontz says comparing Source Code to Groundhog Day is doing a disservice to Source Code enthralling "mind game."
Richard Roeper
Richard Roeper
Richard E. Roeper is an American columnist and film critic for The Chicago Sun-Times and now a co-host on The Roe Conn Show on WLS-AM...
of the Chicago Sun-Times
Chicago Sun-Times
The Chicago Sun-Times is an American daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois. It is the flagship paper of the Sun-Times Media Group.-History:The Chicago Sun-Times is the oldest continuously published daily newspaper in the city...
called the film "Confounding, exhilarating, challenging – and the best movie I've seen so far in 2011." Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Roger Joseph Ebert is an American film critic and screenwriter. He is the first film critic to win a Pulitzer Prize for Criticism.Ebert is known for his film review column and for the television programs Sneak Previews, At the Movies with Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, and Siskel and Ebert and The...
gave the film 3.5 stars out of 4, calling it "an ingenious thriller" where "you forgive the preposterous because it takes you to the perplexing." Kenneth Turan
Kenneth Turan
Kenneth Turan is an American film critic and Lecturer in the Master of Professional Writing Program at the University of Southern California.-Background:...
of the Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
called Ben Ripley's script "cleverly constructed" and a film "crisply directed by Duncan Jones
Duncan Jones
Duncan Zowie Haywood Jones , also known as Zowie Bowie is an English film director, best known for directing the science fiction films Moon and Source Code .-Childhood and family life:...
", while also praising the "cast with the determination and ability to really sell its story." CNN called Ripley's script "ingenious" and the film "as authoritative an exercise in fractured storytelling as Christopher Nolan
Christopher Nolan
Christopher Jonathan James Nolan is a British-American film director, screenwriter and producer.He received serious notice after his second feature Memento , which he wrote and directed based on a story idea by his brother, Jonathan Nolan. Jonathan went to co-write later scripts with him,...
's Memento"; Gyllenhaal is "more compelling here than he's been in a long time." IGN gave it a 2.5/5, saying "Gyllenhaal brings sincerity and warmth to his role, but his conviction only helps the movie so far before it ultimately buckles under the weight of its plot mechanics."
Accolades
| Year | Group | Category | Recipient | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Scream Awards 2011 Scream Awards The 2011 Scream Awards was the name of the sixth annual Scream Awards, an award show dedicated to the horror, sci-fi, and fantasy genres of feature films, television and comic books... |
Best Science Fiction Actor | Jake Gyllenhaal Jake Gyllenhaal Jacob Benjamin "Jake" Gyllenhaal is an American actor. The son of director Stephen Gyllenhaal and screenwriter Naomi Foner, Gyllenhaal began acting at age ten... |
Home media
Source Code was released on DVDDVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
and Blu-ray Disc
Blu-ray Disc
Blu-ray Disc is an optical disc storage medium designed to supersede the DVD format. The plastic disc is 120 mm in diameter and 1.2 mm thick, the same size as DVDs and CDs. Blu-ray Discs contain 25 GB per layer, with dual layer discs being the norm for feature-length video discs...
simultaneously in the US on July 26, 2011, with the UK release on DVD and Blu-ray Disc (as well as a combined DVD/Blu-ray Disc package) on August 15, 2011. In the UK, there was also a DVD released featuring a 3D cover.
External links
- Source Code at MetacriticMetacriticMetacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...