Surrogates is not a film that is so bad, it’s good. Not a guilty pleasure. Not a great idea, just poorly executed. Surrogates is a stinking pile of excrement. It is the pass-the-parcel of clichés, where every layer you unwrap there is another obvious story point unashamedly mooning you from the screen. It is truly rare to watch a film with no redeeming features.
The premise for the film is so ridiculous it is embarrassing to explain it now – but here goes. We are in a future society where, through the development of prosthetic limbs, scientist have created fully formed roboids that go out and live their human’s daily lives, whilst the said owner stays at home controlling their surrogate with their mind. In this utopian world no more humans need to die from accidents or crime. If your surrogate is harmed it can be fixed or replaced with no injury to the operator. Here is where the plot is undone, the surrogates can be used to derive pleasure – as in your surrogate can get it on with another surrogate – so the operators must have some sort of nerve connection to the surrogate’s body. Given this – why the hell don’t the operators get hurt when the surrogates get hit by a car then, or at least feel pain?
The film follows FBI agents Greer (Bruce Willis) and Peters (Radha Mitchell) as they investigate the murder of the son of surrogate’s creator, Cantor (James Cromwell). It is a murder outside the scope of society as Cantor’s son was killed through his surrogate. Given the importance placed on the role of surrogates as protectors, this is a crime that threatens to destroy the fabric of society and affect the profits of surrogate manufacturing giant, VSI. Suspecting the anti-surrogate movement’s involvement, Greer has to enter the dangerous territory of human resistance, without the aid of his surrogate. Led by the Prophet (Ving Rhames) the resistance movement is made up of small pockets of Americans who reject the world of surrogates, preferring to live out their own lives (read religious hicks.)
People are able to buy surrogates that they want to represent them – so of course they all choose incredibly attractive models. A man can choose a female surrogate, a white person a black surrogate and vice versa. In this world of overwhelming possibilities what model does Bruce Willis’ character, Greer, go for? A model that looks exactly like him of course. Is this a reflection of Willis’ vanity or the filmmakers’ assumption that an audience is unable to follow a storyline? It definitely shows concern over the plot – why else would all the major characters have surrogates that look exactly the same as the humans, if not because of the ridiculous nature of the plot?
The script is really not worthy of the talented actors that the film features; Bruce Willis, Radha Mitchell, Rosemund Pike, James Cromwell and Ving Rhames. If they weren’t so obviously well paid for making this filmic abomination you could feel sorry for them. Why the hell are films like this being made? What does it say about our society that the money-spinner that is Hollywood thinks this is what we want? Please resist all temptation to go and see this film and instead rent Blade Runner on DVD.
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Surrogates is currently playing in Australian cinemas
Director: Jonathan Mostow
Cast: Bruce Willis, Radha Mitchell, Rosemund Pike, James Cromwell, Ving Rhames
I,Robot anyone?? and Radha Mitchell, what was she thinking?!
I agree on the most part, but hat’s off to the makeup and effects team for making all the actors look so plastic fantastic.
I recently saw Wall-E for the first time, and then seeing Surrogates made me wonder why we’re making all these films about humankind destroying ourselves. And yet none of the actors are using their social status to sway public opinion towards mobilising against global warming and the suchlike. Moral of the story? We’re ultimately a lazy people and probably won’t do anything about anything. How depressing. I might go have a glass of wine, imported from Chile, that’s not grown on organic fields, and doesn’t generate a decent income for the vineyards. Long live the earth.