Surrogates (2009)

If you don't like this, we can't be friends.

Highly Overrated But Still Good

As Good As It Gets

Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

Surrogates has a very interesting premise, but it doesn't seem to go anywhere. Even the twists and turns are fairly mundane. In the end, it was a fun ride, but this movie is ultimately forgettable.

Surrogates is a thought-provoking, generally well made sci-fi movie. There was a little too much action for my taste and I didn't get how people who were connected to their surrogates almost 24/7 still had functioning bodies at all, or how they performed basic functions, but the main concept was intriguing.In a world where you look however you want and never get hurt, who would ever use their real body? What is the point? In doing so, are you losing a large portion of what makes you human? The movie asks these questions and others.It started really well for me, as it presented an evolution to the current state of the world. It was progressive, we didn't just get 'bam, this is how things are, doesn't matter how it got here'.The development of the story was OK, it felt the pacing was off a bit at times. I thought the concept and its consequences was so powerful that it could have been better executed – all the action and superhero stuff only got in the way. Still, I appreciated the main characters, their struggles and their development. I particularly enjoyed the anxiety experienced by the main character when going out to the world for the first time in years. All the cool effects were a welcome bonus. That flawless skin… Wowza. How the heck did they do that??Besides the amazing imagery and all the action, Surrogates had suspense, mystery and interesting plot twists, so I recommend it.

In this world of the future, technology now allows people to experience life vicariously through the activities of their "surrogates", which are ultra sophisticated robotic creations. Trouble brews when the son of the programs' creator is killed. Bruce Willis plays Greer, an FBI agent forced to leave his home for the first time in years in order to solve the conspiracy.An adaptation of the graphic novel by Robert Venditti & Brett Weldele, "Surrogates" is slick genre entertainment, a cut above many films of this type due to some genuinely provocative content. It certainly may make each viewer ponder the idea of having what is essentially a robot live their life for them. A parallel between the obsessions of this films' characters and real life addictions to technology can certainly be seen. In the end, the need to stress, and reclaim, our humanity is made clear. The action scenes are capably handled, but there are not that many of them. This is one of those instances where the action is serving the story and not vice versa. The visual and makeup effects are generally well done.Credit is due to these filmmakers - led by director Jonathan Mostow - for hitting the ground running and keeping their pace rather lively. Refreshingly, "Surrogates" runs a trim hour and a half, so there's no uninteresting filler to have to sit through. There is some poignancy to the material, as Greer desperately tries to reconnect with his wife Maggie (Rosamund Pike), who fixates on her surrogate, partly as a way of dealing with grief.Willis gives a sensitive, appealing performance in the lead, although it may be distracting seeing that wig on the head of his surrogate. Lovely ladies Radha Mitchell and Pike are fine, as is Boris Kodjoe as the FBI supervisor. James Cromwell and Ving Rhames are kind of wasted in their respective supporting roles, but it's fun to see Jack Noseworthy (a semi regular in Mostows' filmography), Devin Ratray (Buzz from "Home Alone"), and Michael Cudlitz (Abraham on 'The Walking Dead') turn up.Reasonably stimulating and diverting for 89 robust minutes.Seven out of 10.

Surrogates is a Sci-Fi film that although never really lives up to the epic scale we see so often in this genre, still produces some good action scenes and an amazing production design to look at. It has a cast led by an action film legend and he produces bringing the right balance of fights and chases to really make the short film exciting. Some say it is poor but I disagree, I felt it has enough to be considered alright and thought it was also just about OK, and here below is why.The story is pretty cool but to be fair it is wasted, too short of a film and too much going on mean you never quite get to delve into the story and learn about new things. I liked the ending which is interesting and although it does start very slowly and the pace really needs to be kicked up a notch, the middle into the end produces what the movie goers want to see. I also liked the way in which everything works in the world, it is really quite neat and although may seem it has been done before when you see it, it turns out interesting.Bruce Willis is well, a weird looking when he wants to be,He has a strange looking surrogate and the make-up used on him is disturbingly strange to look at best. I wasn't to keen on pretty much anyone else in the cast, it is pretty poorly acted and only Willis can do anything to bring in a saving grace. I would have liked to see the film bring in more support for Willis as at times he can seem to be on his own doing things and a decent sidekick would have made it more exciting.Jonathan Mostow doesn't direct this too well in all fairness, it isn't it's weakest point but the way in which everything goes a long is just a frightfully horrible pace. I personally felt the acting was the biggest let down for this film but the writing is also poor, you won't think much about it whilst watching it but the words chosen are nothing different that your average screenplay. The effects, well the effects are also fairly poor but I will say the actual surrogates look great although basically the sets and make-up for this are the top of quality.The main criticism of course the acting as previously said, just isn't strong enough for such a hard film to well, act in. The poor effects are to be fair hard to do anyway, a bigger budget perhaps would have done the trick but they don't annoy you as a viewer. The 89 minute running time can be a problem at times too, with too little a time to really understand the characters and a rushed ending too.If you like Sci-Fi/Action type films then go see it, you should enjoy all that goes on and only the most hardened haters of Sci-Fi would really dislike this. For Bruce Willis fans your probably used to over the top action and this has it quite a bit although sometimes seems mindless. It's actually a good old mystery if you really look into it and any fan of working out that mystery should enjoy this, even if you don't particularly like these type of movies.Overall it is Just About a Pleasing film, contains no material to push up it's score but I don't think the everyone that watches it should hate it. Don't look into the behind the scenes stuff like writing and directing and the film is hugely enjoyable. Another thing not to look a lot into is also the acting which is not the worst ever but when the film starts you want them to leave the movie quick.