With the advent of surrogates, crime is down to nothing because no one can be harmed and STDs have virtually disappeared. With so many surrogates in play, humans walking among them are reviled and called "meatbags." Those who despise surrogates have even created safe havens called Dread Reservations where no surrogates are allowed. The leader of this group is known only as "The Prophet" (Ving Rhames) and he preaches against surrogates. Then the unthinkable happens and some surrogates are "murdered" along with their human counterparts - their brains are literally fried. Since murder is so very rare, the FBI is called in and Agents Tom Greer (Bruce Willis) and Peters (Radha Mitchell) are called in to investigate the crime. A shockwave runs through the community when it is discovered that one of the murdered pair is none other than the college-aged son of the "father of the surrogates," Dr. Canter (James Cromwell). When Greer and Peters discover that the murderer they are tracking is not only a human, but that he possesses a device which can instantly kill a human through it's surrogate, the race is on to nab the criminal before more lives are lost.
Matters become complicated when Greer, while chasing the suspect, finds himself smack dab in the middle of a Dread Reservation and his surrogate gets destroyed, Terminator style, while during the chase and subsequent human attack. Greer's wife, Maggie (Rosamund Pike), is then mortified to learn that her husband has decided to walk around in his human body, investigating these crimes, while not getting a new surrogate. See, Maggie and Tom have been having problems as of late. Several years back, Maggie and their young son were involved in a car accident, which caused his death. Now, Maggie lives only in her beautiful surrogate so she can try to forget the past, but all Tom wants is his real wife back, not this plastic substitute. Tom reconnects with his humanity and mortality while investigating these crimes and discovers that nothing is truly as it seems. When whoever is behind these crimes finally gets into gear and sets his sites on everyone involved in the investigation, who can Tom truly trust? Anyone could be inhabiting any surrogate - and it's anything goes.
Surrogates is not what I would call a fast-paced action thriller, like I thought it would be, at least not through and through. It has some action scenes, some car chase scenes and some tense moments, but a lot of the movie plods along, slowly developing the characters of Greer and his wife. While it is a good movie, don't pop it in expecting a thrill-a-minute futuristic movie like Minority Report or something like that. It's still good, it just has a lot of slower moments.
There aren't a lot of special features, but I'd personally rather have a handful of good quality features that are worth watching as we have here, rather than of bunch of drivel. There are several deleted scenes, a featurette of the science behind Surrogates, audio commentary by the director, a music video by Breaking Benjamin, and my favorite, a featurette on how the graphic novel was brought to life in the form of the movie.
As far as whether to see this film on Blu-ray or DVD, I'd definitely say Blu-ray all the way. First off, it looks fantastic. There are plenty of action scenes with surrie arms being blown off and green goo oozing and it all looks crystal clear, but the most impressive visual is the look of the surries themselves. We are definitely in "uncanny valley" territory here, with everyone looking a little bit too perfect and Blu-ray plays it up supremely. Next, there are far more Blu-ray exclusive special features than on the DVD, so if you want more than just commentary and the music video, and you have hi-def setup, then Blu-ray is definitely the way to view Surrogates.
As for whether to rent or to buy, Surrogates could go either way. It's not a movie you'd want to watch over and over because once you know the twists and turns, the surprise can't be recaptured in multiple viewings. However, the acting is excellent and the story is a good one, so it's not a bad flick to add to your collection. I'd have to say that Rosamund Pike absolutely steals the show as Maggie, with her doll-like persona and inhuman, almost unfeeling qualities. The most disconcerting is a dreadlock-wearing Ving Rhames, who plays his part well, but looks really odd.
Check out Surrogates when you want to watch a movie that has plenty of action wrapped up in a story woven with deep characters.
Clips
TrailerFeaturette: Best Version of Yourself
Deleted Scene: Apologies & Theories
Temp Surrogate
