"People are living their lives remotely from the safety of their own homes via robotic surrogates -- sexy, physically perfect mechanical representations of themselves. It's an ideal world where crime, pain, fear and consequences don't exist. When the first murder in years jolts this utopia, FBI agent Greer discovers a vast conspiracy behind the surrogate phenomenon and must abandon his own surrogate, risking his life to unravel the mystery."
This is my second film that I've reviewed from director Mostow, who also directed U-571 and The Hunters Prayer, both of which are well put together films, so he's good at weaving stories from his sources and I apparently like his work.
Surrogates is a fascinating film that takes place in a society that uses remote controlled robots to lead their lives, rather than do it in their own skins. The robots, or Surrogates, are faster, stronger and look just that much more perfect. It brings to life our dependencies on things outside ourselves that make us feel better emotionally and more secure.
But there's also a segment of society that's totally against the idea of Surrogates, sequestered away in a less than optimal part of town.
Underneath this society, crimes are being committed that alerts people to the idea that a user can potentially be killed via their surrogate remote connection... or murdered. One thing leads to another, and Greer (Willis) is forced to pursue his investigation in his own meat sack, so to speak, when his unit gets trashed.
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The film presents the philosophical premise of humans having a chance to live perfect lives versus living it as we were meant to, with repercussions for our actions and having no reset buttons. Throughout the film we watch Greer trying to convince his Surrogate addicted wife to just take a vacation with him, as humans. But she represents the rest of how humanity feels about their fantasy lives, considering that living life as a surrogate appeals to her vanity, considering her preference to not go outside with the scars she has received from a previous automobile accident. And Greer's desire to do things with his remote is based off that same accident, that killed his son.
I found myself somewhat riveted by the film, watching to see what will come of each new development, from discovering how the remote robots worked, to the addiction to using the robots, and how Greer interacts with the world when he doesn't have his robot. All while watching how the different sects of society lives, dealing with the two factions of society.
All in all, on IMDb, the film has a 6.3/10 but I was riveted or curious enough to give it at least a popcorn 7.
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