Surrogates was good, not great. However, the idea behind it is one of the more original ideas that has come across the silver screen in a long time. Surrogates is a sci-fi thriller set some time in the future in a world where everyone owns Surrogates. Life like robots that humans control through machines that they lie in and manage with their thoughts. The humans control everything the Surrogates or "Surries" do. They feel everything, they see everything, except the humans never leave their homes. In this world, you can make your Surrogate look any way you want. Whether you are an aging woman who wants to look like your younger self forever or a 300-lb, hideous man who wants to be a 5'10" blond supermodel, you can do it. Thus, in the world of Surries, everyone is young and beautiful. There is no more murder because if a Surrogate is "killed" its only property damage, kind of like a car wreck. There's no more STD's because you can have sex with someone through your robot Surrogate. It would appear that this would create a Utopia right? Well, we all know that Utopian societies in movies always end up not being so great. There are groups of people, pleasantly called "meat bags" who either refuse to live through a robot, or can't afford one. They are placed in "reservations" through out the world, and basically live in communes. Well, the proverbial s^&* hits the fan when a weapon is used that can kill a human by killing their Surrogate. And the story progresses from there.
Bruce Willis stars in this flick as an FBI agent who is forced to leave his home when his Surrogate is destroyed. He is his usual, no nonsense, conflicted, fantastic self. He does a great job as the possible savior or destroyer of this future world. He is partnered by the beautiful Rahda Mitchell (the mom in Man on Fire). And his nemesis is The Prophet, played by a dread locked Ving Rhames.
The idea behind this film is awesome. This movie is based on a graphic novel written by Robert Venditti. I'm going to brag a little and say that not only does Robert Venditti live in hometown of Cumming, GA, but he came and spoke to my rotary club, and had a couple of before movie beers with the group of friends who I watched the movie with. So I have a kind of connection with this film. But regardless of my knowing the creator of this story, I think I would have thought the idea was great. I mean (and I'm taking this from what Venditti pointed out, and why he began to write the story) think about how many people communicate via the Internet now. People have online identities, kind of like Mr. Heavy Shoes, and all the avatars that are out there, that they live behind, that people don't really know who the people they communicate with online really are. Take that phenomenon, and multiply it, take it from an online identity to a real life identity, or avatar, or Surrogate. Whether you like sci-fi or not, that's cool.
Having said that, I'll tell you about the movie itself. It's full of beautiful people. I mean everyone looks like a model beautiful. Which, regardless of how the movie is, always makes something easier to watch. I did have to keep myself from saying, "Okay, yeah right this company executive would be a smoking hot 22-year old!" I had to keep saying, "No, this exec isn't a smoking hot 22-year old, she is probably a 60 year old man, whose Surrogate is a smoking hot 22-year old." There are some really cool action sequences that are only made "believable" because a robot was doing it. And the movie has a run time of about an hour and a half so you don't get too restless.
HOWEVER, this is once again production companies kind of messing up an otherwise awesome story. And while I agree some things couldn't be helped, like, for example, Bruce Willis' surrogate is a younger, blond headed version of Bruce Willis. It looks weird, watching a younger, full head of haired Bruce Willis. Its almost distracting, and when real human Bruce comes into play, its a relief. The movie felt rushed, Willis figures out whats going on way too easily. There's an underlying story with Willis' wife and son that is there, but doesn't go deep enough into. There are a couple of twists and turns that happen, but are then forgotten about. Oh, and everyone in the world is ugly. They are all fat, and sloppy and unshaven. Now, I know that may have been needed to show the contrast but it was a little extreme. I feel like if the movie had been a little longer, and delved into the people behind the surrogates, it would have been more interesting. Also, the graphic novel is dark and gritty, and takes place in good ole Atlanta, but the movie is bright and pretty and takes place in Boston. Okay, now that I've written that its in Boston, I agree that maybe it is more believable that all the people there are ugly. JUST KIDDING...sort of. Maybe keeping it in Atlanta wouldn't have allow for such a contrast with the meat bags and the Surries, what with all these pretty ladies walking around!!
I liked this movie, but I did feel a little disappointed. It was a serious, and pretty deep idea that was dumbed down into a crowd friendly, mind numbing PG-13 movie. I would recommend seeing this, just don't waste $10 at the movie theater to do it. Rent it. You'll be glad you watched it. It is a good, entertaining, fun movie. But you'll walk out feeling a little empty, you won't have a totally fulfilling movie watching experience. That's why I recommend renting it, at least you can pause it to look at the pretty people, and enjoy pizza pie or two and just imagine, if there were really Surrogates, you could fat out all the time and not worry about a thing because, hey, at least your Surrie is hot!
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