So, this script was on the 2007 Black List, and it’s been hailed as one of, if not the, best unproduced screenplays currently circulating Hollywood.

I’m not sure why.

I mean, it’s a lukewarm premise – a guy gets repeatedly sent back in time to the scene of a crime to figure out who the guilty party is – and immediately brings to mind Denzel Washington’s Deja Vu (incidentally, what is up with Denzel’s love affair with director Tony Scott? The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3, Deja Vu, Man on Fire, the upcoming Unstoppable, and Crimson Tide, their first collaboration. What was Scott’s last good film? He’s gotten 25 years worth of work from one movie – 1986′s Top Gun. His last movie to crack $100m came eleven years ago – 1998′s Enemy of the State, starring Will Smith, and before that you have to go back another eleven years to 1987′s Beverly Hills Cop II, starring Eddie Murphy. Crimson Tide was a good movie, and Man on Fire was OK, but Deja Vu and Pelham 1 2 3 were simply awful – I can’t imagine how Unstoppable was greenlit.).

I had started reading this script months ago, but never got around to finishing it (not a good sign) until yesterday’s casting news was announced. I started reading it again this morning, from the beginning, this time imagining Jake Gyllenhaal in the lead, and I was pretty entertained. There are a couple good twists, but there are two things towards the end of the second act and beginning of the third act that totally ruin the movie for me (from a suspension-of-disbelief standpoint). The ending is reasonable. Cheesy, but reasonable. For Hollywood, anyway.

I dunno, I mean, the writing’s strong. Regardless of the story or concept, the guy writes well - he doesn’t waste too many scenes, the dialogue is mostly tight, and the characters feel really well-drawn. The whole way through I could visualize exactly what the movie would look like. And with a strong lead and strong director, it should turn into a pretty good feature. As for the story, I’m assuming that some of the rewrites have addressed the twists that I found indefensible, and I’ll be looking forward to renting this once it’s released.

As for an overall grade – I certainly can’t imagine that this is one of Hollywood’s best screenplays. It can’t be. It’s good. It’s strong. I have no objection to the fact that it’s being produced. And I have no idea if I’ll ever be able to write as competently as Ripley did. But it’s simply not a “blow you away” script. Certainly not in the way Aaron Sorkin’s The Social Network is. Maybe it’s a question of genre. Maybe it’s just harder to write action thrillers. But I don’t think that means we should be more forgiving of them. If I had to give a score, I’d give the script a 6 or 7 out of 10. But, at the risk of sounding conflicted, it’s a “strong” 6 or 7.

By the way, geeks around the world will roll their eyes and hurumph loudly when they find out how the term “source code” is used in the script. Soooo many eye rolls. Here’s hoping it gets a new title before its release.

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