Photo by: AccessHollywood.com

The question of where humanity’s rampant pursuit of technology will eventually take us is a common one in pop culture, with the consensus being that eventually we will invent robots and they will ruin our lives somehow.

“Surrogates” explores the theme of technology run rampant in a unique way.

Based on the graphic novel of the same name, the film follows the story of FBI agent Tom Greer (Bruce Willis), who finds himself investigating the first homicide in almost a decade.

Because everyone is using robotic surrogate bodies to venture into the outside world, humanity can live pretty much consequence free, doing every crazy stupid thing people ever wanted to do from the safety of home.

If your robotic surrogate gets damaged or destroyed, all you’ve got to do is unplug and have it repaired or replaced.

Over the course of his investigation, Greer’s own surrogate is destroyed and he must continue working in the flesh.

Soon he discovers that nothing is quite as it seems and he must unravel a vast conspiracy.

Willis is in fine form in this film. His performance is subtle and understated without dropping completely off the radar.

His display of human emotion come across as especially genuine in comparison to the other actors, given that they’re portraying robots.

The effect comes across visually as well, with the sculpted, perfectly made-up surrogates standing in stark contrast to the slouchy gross humans.

 

 

“Surrogates” is a solid action-thriller that, like most films adapted from graphic novels, suffers from a reduced capacity for storytelling.

The film is quite predictable as far as the plot goes, but the main focus is on perception of reality. It poses the question “is one really alive when one experience one’s life through a piece of technology?”

The film handles this pretty effectively, exploring it but not shoving it down the audience’s throat.

But it is very hard to express the same things in a two-hour film that you could in print. The final moral of the film seems like an overly simplistic answer to a very complex question.

“Surrogates” is a must-see for cyberpunk junkies, especially those disappointed with the travesty that was “Gamer.”

Others might find the film boring when compared to other box office offerings featuring meatballs falling from the sky or Megan Fox in some girl-on-girl action.

Remember that above all else, “Surrogates” is a genre film, and if you’re not interested in the genre then you won’t be interested in the movie.