Surrogates (2009)

Director:

Jonathan Mostow

Writers (WGA):

Michael Ferris (screenplay) &
John D. Brancato (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

25 September 2009 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Tagline:

How do you save humanity when the only thing that's real is you?

Plot:

Set in a futuristic world where humans live in isolation and interact through surrogate robots, a cop (Willis) is forced to leave his home for the first time in years in order to investigate the murders of others’ surrogates.

Plot Keywords:

Murder | Robot | Futuristic | FBI Agent | FBI

Cast

Bruce Willis	...	Tom Greer
Radha Mitchell	...	Peters
Rosamund Pike	...	Maggie
Boris Kodjoe	...	Stone
James Francis Ginty	...	Canter Surrogate
James Cromwell	...	Older Canter
Ving Rhames	...	The Prophet
Jack Noseworthy	...	Strickland
Devin Ratray	...	Bobby
Michael Cudlitz	...	Colonel Brendon
Jeffrey De Serrano	...	Armando
Helena Mattsson	...	JJ
Michael Phillip	...	Uniformed Cop
Danny F Smith	...	Victim (as Danny Smith)
Brian A. Parrish	...	Hard Hat (as Brian Parrish)

Also Known As:

Vicarious (Philippines: English title) (review title)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of violence, disturbing images, language, sexuality and a drug-related scene.

Runtime:

88 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

USA:PG-13 (certificate #45570) | Ireland:12A | UK:12A | South Korea:15 | Finland:K-13 | Canada:14A (Alberta/Manitoba) | Canada:G (Québec) | Canada:PG (British Columbia/Ontario) | Singapore:PG | Norway:11 | Australia:M | Philippines:PG-13 (MTRCB) | South Africa:13V | Hong Kong:IIA | Sweden:11 | Portugal:M/12 | Japan:G | Argentina:16 | Netherlands:12 | Mexico:B

Filming Locations:

Boston, Massachusetts, USA

Company:

Touchstone Pictures

Trivia:

When agents Greer and Peters first visit VSI, they walk past a group of video screens showing VSI commercials and other programming. In part of one screen is briefly seen a rotating model of a Terminator T-800 head. Jonathan Mostow was the director of Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (2003).

Goofs:

Factual errors: When Greer is talking with the colonel in charge of the surrogate soldier program, the colonel's right shoulder shows a Ranger qualification tab. This tab should actually be on his left shoulder.

Quotes:

[last lines]
Male Newscaster: Still no official word on when, or if, surrogate services can be restored. It appears, at least for now... that we are on our own.

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Late Show with David Letterman: (#17.14)" (2009)

Soundtrack:

Skin Trade

Pretty Good ...

From reading the mixed reviews, I went into this with low expectations. I left the theater being entertained. The direction, acting, special effects are all A-Grade. The only drawback is that it felt rushed and over edited. There were a couple characters that I wish were more fleshed out. I think a directors cut on DVD will take care of these issues. This is a movie to be seen though on the big screen. The whole concept seems very familiar when watching this movie (if you are fan of sci/fi films) I thought Scanner Darkly meets Blade Runner when viewing this. I am sure Phillip K Dick has influenced this screenplay and graphic novel, as he has done with a lot of current sci-fi. The two films listed above are on my top favorites list when it comes to sci/fi. This doesn't quite come close to those mentioned but it was a fun ride!