Review: Surrogates

Surrogates

OPENING: 09/25/2009

STUDIO: Touchstone Pictures

RUN TIME: 88 min

ACCOMPLICES:
Trailer, Official Site

The Charge
Human perfection. What could go wrong?

Opening Statement
It’s becoming increasingly common to see the phrase, "Based on the Graphic Novel" appearing in trailers for new films. Hot on the heels of the graphic novel adaptation (and box office bust) Whiteout comes Surrogates, based on a 2005 collaboration between writer Robert Venditti and artist Brett Weldele. The graphic novel was generally well-regarded by those who actually read it (it certainly didn’t make a huge splash in the comic book world at the time of its release), but the cinematic version frequently struggles to successfully capitalize on the intriguing ideas presented in this story.

Facts of the Case
Surrogates takes place in a not-too-distant future, but the world has changed dramatically due to the invention of "Surrogates" (or "Surrys," as we shortcut-loving Americans have predictably dubbed them), humanoid machines designed to allow human beings to be whoever they want to be. Humans sit in the comfort of their homes, hook themselves up to a machine, and proceed to live vicariously through their surrogate as it wanders through the real world. Let’s say you’re an overweight, unattractive man. Why not purchase a handsome, good-looking surrogate and pretend that’s who you really are? Hey, why not just make yourself a woman, if that’s what you’re into? You can be anything you want to be. The best part: if your surrogate gets hurt, injured, or destroyed, you’re still safe at home. You can always buy another one.

The appeal of owning a surrogate is considerable, and almost all of humanity has chosen to live their lives through them. One day, something startling happens. A surrogate is destroyed and its human host is killed simultaneously. Initially, this is regarded as a weird coincidence. However, as the tragedy is repeated again and again, it becomes clear someone is out to destroy humans using surrogates. FBI Agents Greer (Bruce Willis, Die Hard) and his partner Peters (Radha Mitchell, Melinda and Melinda) are tapped to investigate the situation. Who is behind this string of violent attacks?

The Evidence
It’s often said television shows and movies present a portrait of humanity which is considerably more attractive and less realistic than real life. I remember a story told by a writer at Variety who talked about the day an episode of Entourage was filmed at his office. All of the frumpy, ordinary, middle-aged folks working there were shuffled out of the building and replaced by fit, attractive 20-and-30-somethings. We don’t want to look at ourselves as we are; we want to look at ourselves as we wish we were. That mentality serves as fuel for Surrogates, which offers a world in which everyone is an ideal specimen. You won’t find many old people, fat people, or ugly people in this world. Everyone looks like they belong on a magazine cover, because that’s who everyone wants to be. Meanwhile, the hosts of these surrogates sit at home, overweight, pale, and terrified when pondering the idea of actually entering the real world and interacting with others.

I find this sort of thing fascinating. Unfortunately, director Jonathan Mostow (whose credits include U-571 and Terminator 3) and the writing team of Michael Ferris & John Brancato (who scripted the dud Terminator: Salvation earlier this year) waste an awful lot of this particular future’s potential. While there are moments of thoughtfulness, curiosity, and even inventiveness, Mostow and Co. seem more interested in finding a way to turn a cool concept into a mundane, ordinary thriller. When the dust settles, Surrogates is just another disposable Bruce Willis action flick with some nifty moments.

The murder mystery at the heart of the film gets most of the attention, but the one thing that makes the murders so important seems rooted in faulty logic. For some reason, there is no murder in this surrogate-dominated world. Sure, surrogates get beat up and damaged all the time, but no human beings are killed. Why? It’s not because human beings no longer have the desire to kill, nor that technology is advanced enough to prevent murder (ala Minority Report). Supposedly, the fact that human beings are generally able to live through surrogates allows them to take out their violent impulses on other surrogates, so no human beings have been murdered in several years. I don’t buy it. I don’t think human impulses are capable of evolving so quickly, making this technology-fueled utopia feel even more artificial than it actually is.

That aside, the mystery isn’t particularly interesting. The investigation leads Agent Greer to a reservation for humans with no desire to live in a world where robots pose as humans. The leader of this group is a charismatic figure named The Prophet (Ving Rhames, Pulp Fiction), who is an interesting guy early on. However, The Prophet is one of several characters who do not reveal their true motivations until the film’s third act. When you discover the truth of these characters and attempt to match them up, you find a startling logical flaw that suggests the true villain could not have done what the film credits him with doing.

Of course there’s a heavy dose of action and ‘splosions along the way, scenes which are competent if fairly contrived. Mostow brings a good deal of whiz-bang energy to his third act chase sequence, but I was far less interested in seeing these characters beat on each other than I was learning more about them. Characterization is in very short supply in Surrogates, as the focus on plot and action over the course of 88 minutes leaves little time for such things. I suppose the writers felt having most characters appear as both human and surrogate made them two-dimensional. Bruce Willis is a predictably steady anchor for the proceedings, but his performance is merely functional. Meanwhile, the likes of Radha Mitchell, James Cromwell, Ving Rhames, and Rosumund Pike just aren’t given enough to do.


Closing Statement
I found Surrogates perfectly tolerable, mostly because the basic premise was touched on frequently enough to keep my brain engaged. In the hands of more capable writers and filmmakers it could have been a terrific piece of smart sci-fi entertainment. Instead, it’s destined to become the sort of flick that one watches on late-night cable when they have nothing better to do.

The Verdict
5/10

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