Intriguingly scaled more along the lines of a good sci-fi short story than a steroid-enhanced action picture, Surrogates proposes a variation on spectatorship-run-amok. In the near future, human beings need no longer leave their homes: mechanical surrogates, similar in appearance (but younger looking, fitter, with fewer wrinkles and more hair) can move about in the world on the user’s behalf, following commands and absorbing physical wear and tear. A cop (Bruce Willis) begins in Read more…
March 6th, 2010 on 12:49 pm
The essential premise behind SURROGATES is interesting, although perhaps not entirely original. It is the not-too-distant future, but 98% of the human population is living through a surrogate. These robots do everything for you, AS you. You can sit in the safety of your chair at home, getting fat and wearing pajamas all day, while your avatar, with a face (even gender) that you’ve chosen stands in for you. You see and feel and hear everything…but there’s no danger to you if you want to try something crazy. You’ll always look attractive and young. Thus, in surrogates, no one is quite what they seem. The 2% of people who refuse to join the “fun” live in ramshackle, electronics-free zones scattered around the country. They live lives that resemble nothing more than hippie colonies…the fact that they not only rejected living through surrogates but apparently ALL forms of technology is never really explained. They are led by “The Prophet” (original name!) who assures them the day of reckoning is coming. And indeed, when a new weapon arrives on the scene…the new world order appears to be threatened. This weapon allows its wielder to not only kill surrogates, but to also kill the human who is operating it. There are many intriguing ideas and concepts (and questions) that this alternate world brings to mind…but SURROGATES is in the end more of a detective movie than a sci-fi movie. And not a detective movie in BLADE RUNNER tradition (where the detective and his work is a way of delving ever deeper into what it means to live in this alternate society), but more in the I, ROBOT tradition of Will Smith kicking butt and taking names. But with a lower budget. SURROGATES has little in the way of truly new ideas, and apart from some randomly scattered amusing moments, doesn’t milk much entertainment value from the pure idea of all of us sitting around, getting fat, lazy (and probably smelly) while our surrogates run around looking younger, fitter, sexier and smarter than we do…interacting with other surrogates who look hot but are in reality a stand-in for others who are fat, lazy and smelly. To go along with lazy ideas are some lazy performances. Rhada Mitchell plays one of the cops investigating this new weaponry, and it’s as if she’s taken the robot idea a bit too far…she fails to muster up any emotion, and thus, even though she is a “co-star,” she is utterly forgettable. James Cromwell (as the inventor of surrogates) and Ving Rhames (as The Prophet) phone in their performances, giving us absolutely nothing we’ve not seen before in previous films. Rosamund Pike has a small role as the wife of the lead investigator on the case, and she DOES at least show some sparks of emotion and generates a little empathy. Thus, SURROGATES is at best a 2.5 star movie. The effects are minimal, but generally convincing. Action sequences (stage by Jonathan Mostow of TERMINATOR 3) are workmanlike but not actually bad. Script is uninspired and the acting is uninteresting. BUT WAIT. I forgot to mention that the film stars Bruce Willis. He is the master of elevating the quality of the film around him. He can turn a very good film into a classic (DIE HARD, SIXTH SENSE) and he can turn a mediocre film into something at least enjoyable for its running time (16 BLOCKS, HOSTAGE). And this is the service he performs for SURROGATES. While he’s not exactly a GREAT actor in the way we think of folks like Daniel Day Lewis or Robert DeNiro…he is a nearly perfect EVERYMAN. No one does world-weary better. In fact, world-weariness is what Willis always starts with, and then he just adds the right amount of smart-ass to the mix. John McClane in DIE HARD…lots of smart-ass. His character in TWELVE MONKEYS…only a tiny, tiny drop. Yet he always knows exactly how much to add. (Sometime his best efforts can only elevate a 1 star film to 2 stars…see STRIKING DISTANCE…or don’t! Also, this is a skill he’s hones over time…some of his earlier work like MORTAL THOUGHTS or THE JACKAL pretty much just stinks.) Willis is amusing in SURROGATES when he is seen as his surrogate. Youngish, with a full head of very funny hair. When the “real” Willis emerges, he’s the Bruce we know. Shaved head, scars and that patented world-weariness. He also gets to show his other skill…the art of really looking like he’s getting hurt, yet making us believe he can get up and keep fighting. Again, John McClane is the archetype…but Willis still owns that trait. Frankly, he’s just a good guy to watch on film. We like him…easily. He’s not the brightest tool in the shed sometimes, but he has good instincts, a quick wit and is usually a good person just trying to make the best of bad situations. SURROGATES’ script has saddled him with a sadness due to a son who has died years before…but Willis still makes his scenes with his wife (whom he so eagerly wants to wean off her surrogate so they can REALLY be together) touching. Thus, thanks to Willis, the film is a solid 3.5 stars. But for the overall lack of originality, I’ll be treating that like 3.49 stars and rounding down to 3.
March 6th, 2010 on 4:28 pm
This review is from: Surrogates [Blu-ray] (Blu-ray)
“Surrogates” is a futuristic tale of divided identity, treachery, and murder. Based on the graphic novel by Robert Venditti and Brett Weldele, “Surrogates” stars Bruce Willis as FBI agent Tom Greer, who lives in a world where robotic surrogates stand in for people, protecting them from violence, disease, and the appearance of aging. These picture- perfect replicants — fit, good-looking, remotely controlled machines that assume their operator’s life role — enable the population to experience life vicariously from the comfort and safety of their own homes, giving a sci-fi spin to the notion of “couch potato.” Greer and partner Agent Peters (Radha Mitchell) are called in to investigate the mysterious death of a college student whose life ended when his surrogate was destroyed. When Greer’s surrogate is damaged in the investigation, he ventures out of his apartment for the first time in decades. He must decide who is real and who can be trusted. Now that James Cameron has provided movie the final word on human duplicates in “Avatar,” the subject may not resonate as dramatically in “Surrogates,” but it’s a well-made action picture with Willis center stage in his familiar lone-warrior stance. The theme harks back to one that Stanley Kubrick used memorably in “2001: A Space Odyssey” — depending too much on technology can have dire consequences. Despite the fact that “Surrogates” takes place in the future, the world depicted by director Jonathan Mostow resembles a contemporary city, but the combination of sci-fi, action flick, and mystery work well and provide an entertaining ride. DVD bonus extras include director commentary and the music video “I Will Not Bow” by Breaking Benjamin. The Blu-ray edition contains these and the featurettes “A More Perfect You: The Science of Surrogates” and “Breaking the Frame: A Graphic Novel Comes to Life,” and four deleted scenes.