Jake Gyllenhaal, Michelle Monaghan, Vera Farmiga and Duncan Jones all attended the premiere of Source Code at the South By Southwest Film Festival in Austin, Texas, on Friday night. The film was selected as the festival's opening night showcase.
The twit reviews are streaming in, and they seem very enthusiastic. A sampling:
larry411: Source code @sxsw from @manmademoon dir duncan jones is spectacular, edge of your seat fun #sxsw another hit for summit
lmelnick: 4 stars for source code now q and a with cast, dir and writer. awesome
shivvy: SOURCE CODE was a great lil thriller. Audience did roar w/ laughter when Jake G used Bing on a cell phone. #productplacement
screenjunkies: Source Code is great. Tight thriller, smart science and a positive worldview.
cdab: SOURCE CODE was awesome!! What a great way to start #SXSW. Thank you so much for that movie, @ManMadeMoon. #DuncanJonescanmakeamovie
dooglar: Loved "Source Code" it also moved me emotionally. You get save-the-world drama, sci-fi suspense of belief & the value of relationships
georgkallert: Source Code is fantastic / great performances and an intense story / loved it !!!
crispyfuller: Source Code was AMAZING. Inception fans will love it. Actually, I think everyone will.
movingreviews: Instant Review: SOURCE CODE is fantastic. One of the best films I've seen come out of @SXSW. A must see
They are not all positive - I'll post the negative ones in the replies :)
And according to Cinematical, "Duncan Jones' sophomore effort, 'Source Code,' is not nearly as original as his first film, but it is the next best thing to unique: it's two or three familiar ideas tossed into a blender, whipped into a tasty concoction, and delivered with a great deal of style and confidence."
He calls Jake's performance "excellent."
IndieWire gives it an A-:
Drawing on time-shifting concepts reminiscent of “Groundhog Day” and “Run Lola Run,” Duncan Jones’ “Source Code” inhabits the spirit of old-school sci-fi while effectively providing a measure of pathos. As he did in his prior film, “Moon,” “Source Code” showcases Jones’ ability to provide ample entertainment value with sharply drawn characters in a minimalist setting.
And a 9/10 from Coming Soon:
More than anything, "Source Code" is a film full of emotion as Jones gets as strong a performance out of Jake Gyllenhaal as he did with Sam Rockwell, Gyllenhaal ably fitting into the type of everyman protagonist role that helped Hitchcock's thrillers work so well. You're really pulled into Stevens' dilemma as he interacts with his handler, played by Vera Farmiga, and tries to figure out how to fulfill his mission, while also using his military background to explore how real soldiers are affected by returning from war. ...
The Bottom Line:
This is an impressive and ambitious second feature from Jones, one that shows he's capable of handling a fairly complex premise with lots of moving parts. Like the best science fiction, "Source Code" is quite deep and affecting on many levels with a premise that never gets dull or predictable or feels gimmicky. It's very much the type of movie one can see over and over again and appreciate more of its intricacies each time despite knowing some of the many twists going in.
Bit of a mixed bag from the Hollywood Reporter but overall positive:
Its four main actors play sharply delineated characters, not with much depth but, hey, who has time for depth when Chicago is about to blow up? Source Code, which premiered at South by Southwest, could develop into a minor hit for Summit Entertainment, thanks to the fine casting, a sense of claustrophobia and an intriguing race against time.
Variety didn't love it:
Solid execution and some provocative ideas can't save "Source Code" from a fatal hubris, as it thinks itself far more clever than it actually is and assumes it's earned emotions at which it's only hinted. Sophomore director Duncan Jones is becoming an adept craftsman of such modestly scaled, cerebral speculative fiction, and had this been a SyFy original movie, it would have been most impressive. But as a follow-up to the startlingly inventive "Moon," "Source Code" just doesn't quite compute. SXSW opener ought to do solid but unspectacular business, with better odds in ancillary.
Gyllenhaal could likely do this sort of bedroom-eyed soldier role in his sleep, but he plays the part with great energy and conviction. Farmiga uses the opportunity to add another warmly maternal bureaucrat role to her scorecard, and Wright makes for a nicely sinister string-puller.
Earlier in the day, Jake and Michelle taped Moviefone's Unscripted at the AOL Studios.
An interview with Jake about the SC game:
Plus some late pics from the Q&A:
Jeff Wells praised the movie and also took some video of the beginning of the Q&A.
Finally, Jake in the audience for his own movie :)
