{"id":493,"date":"2011-04-07T13:39:55","date_gmt":"2011-04-07T18:39:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.dalton.org\/scifan\/?p=493"},"modified":"2011-04-07T13:39:55","modified_gmt":"2011-04-07T18:39:55","slug":"source-code","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.dalton.org\/scifan\/2011\/04\/07\/source-code\/","title":{"rendered":"Source Code"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Moon<\/em><\/strong>, directed by Duncan Jones, is a science fiction film gem that has quietly gained viewership and critical admiration since its release in 2009.\u00a0 Source Code<\/strong><\/em>, Jones’ new,\u00a0 larger budget sci-fi movie, deserves the same high praise from true SciFi fans.<\/p>\n

Although not penned by Jones, who wrote the screenplay for Moon<\/em><\/strong>, Source Code<\/strong><\/em> has a similar key element: a main character who gradually comes to realize the truth of his supposed existence and seeks the freedom to control his own destiny.<\/p>\n

Some critics claim that Moon<\/strong><\/em>, with its low-budget grittiness, is superior to Source Code<\/strong><\/em>.\u00a0 I disagree.\u00a0 Source Code<\/strong><\/em> has a much tighter pace which helps broaden the viewership and showcases Jones’ maturation as a visual storyteller.\u00a0 Since the script is clean and gripping, Jones uses special effects sparingly only to accentuate the intensity of the story elements, not to divert the audience’s attention from a weak script.\u00a0 A refreshing change from many recent sci-fi films.<\/p>\n

On top of a good director, Source Code<\/strong><\/em> also benefits from a solid cast.\u00a0 Jake Gyllenhaal proves to be a fine actor with masterful control of his emotional reservoir.\u00a0 Michelle Monaghan comes off as sincere and convincing.\u00a0 And the two superb supporting actors, Vera Farmiga and Jeffrey Wright, further enhance the credibility and emotional truth of the film.\u00a0 Farmiga portrays her role as a seemingly icy army officer masking her deep compassion with finesse and subtlety.\u00a0 Wright dons a gleeful self-congratulatory air with an almost comical nervous mannerism.\u00a0 His skillful depiction of a “mad scientist” who disregards the feelings of the soldier who has become a mere tool to expand and elevate the scientist’s own status and the program Wright’s character oversees is spot on.<\/p>\n

Like all good science fiction, in the end, the viewer is left with some essential questions (and only occasional answers.)\u00a0 After seeing the final minutes of the movie, I wondered if Ben Ripley (the screen writer) is, fundamentally, celebrating this imagined military program designed to save many lives by sacrificing one soldier’s free-will.\u00a0 And if that is so, what does he have to say about some of our current military practices that demand the curtailing of personal conveniences and freedom to protect the greater good?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Moon, directed by Duncan Jones, is a science fiction film gem that has quietly gained viewership and critical admiration since its release in 2009.\u00a0 Source Code, Jones’ new,\u00a0 larger budget sci-fi movie, deserves the same high praise from true SciFi … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":32,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[709],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-493","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-review-movies"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dalton.org\/scifan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/493","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dalton.org\/scifan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dalton.org\/scifan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dalton.org\/scifan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/32"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dalton.org\/scifan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=493"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dalton.org\/scifan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/493\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dalton.org\/scifan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=493"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dalton.org\/scifan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=493"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dalton.org\/scifan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=493"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}