Human Replicants in a Sci-Fi Thriller
"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.
Reviewed by The Movie Man
0 comments:
Post a Comment