Surrogates (***)

Directed by: Jonathan Mostow
Starring: Bruce Willis, Radha Mitchell, Rosamund Pike, Ving Rhames, James Cromwell
Seen: November 15th 2009

*** Out of ****

In an age of dumbed-down science fiction movies (think Transformers, Alien vs. Predator, and Gamer), it is refreshing to see that some movies still prefer substance ánd style as opposed to only style or something completely lacking substance. Surrogates falls into the better of the two categories. Not only is it a flashy and very good-looking sci-fi movie, it also deals with some deeper issues relating to the constant move away from physical interactions towards an increasingly computerised (and robotised) age.

In the near future people do not venture outside their homes anymore. Instead they “plug in” to stem-chairs at home and connect to their surrogates, extremely human-like robots controlled by the chair. Tom Greer (Willis) is called upon to investigate the destruction of two surrogates, and the investigation reveals that the operators of these surrogates have died in their chairs, something which absolutely should not happen, as there are supposed to be safeguards in place. Someone has technology that can kill the operators of surrogates, something that should not exist.

Together with his partner Jennifer Peters (Mitchell), Greer investigates the matter and starts uncovering a maze of information that just does not seem to make sense (to Greer, not the viewer). The investigation leads Greer to various companies and locations, even through a Dread-Zone, an area with a law unto itself, where surrogates are not allowed, and hunted should they trespass. The movie is most certainly created in a very rich world, most likely thanks to its graphic novel source material. The thing I found wanting was the limited story development, as at 88 minutes the movie is not given enough time to develop the multiple leads into good material and subplots to support what we’re given. You get the distinct feeling that story elements were left out to try and streamline the movie, and this in effect tames what could have been a great movie to one that is merely cool with a bit of food for thought.

The special effects in Surrogates are top-notch, as are the action sequences (of which there are not very many, as the story mainly drives the movie, not the action. The Surrogates are brilliantly acted – they look human, but everything else says these are robots – the way they walk, talk, react, and communicate is not completely real, always just slightly left-field. The movie makes a great statement in/about the modern age – all our technological advances are taking us further and further apart, and sometimes the only way to get us back to really connecting with each other is to remove a bit of technology from the equation. So even though the movie felt somehow incomplete, it was a pleasure to watch, as the ideas driving it are good, and the ways they are portrayed mostly effective. All in all this is a smart sci-fi movie, if a bit on the short side.