Surrogates

July 31, 2010 - I have seen the future, and it is pajamas. Yes, if the premise of this movie should ever become reality, you and I will lounge in our pajamas all day while our surrogates go out into the world to work and play. Sound like fun?

In this PG-13 film from 2009, just about everyone has a surrogate. Surrogates are human-like robots that you control with your thoughts from the privacy of your own home. Many people choose surrogates that look like themselves only better. Others choose surrogates that look nothing like themselves. With a surrogate, you can be whoever you want to be.

As the movie sets it up, surrogates got their start as essentially an advanced form of artificial limbs intended to help wounded soldiers. Eventually, the technology progressed to the point where surrogates were whole beings and everybody wanted one. The brains behind the surrogates, Dr. Canter (James Cromwell), started a company and got filthy rich then decided that maybe surrogates weren't such a good idea.

Bruce Willis plays FBI agent Tom Greer. He comes in contact with Canter when the man's son and another person are killed by a weapon that can kill surrogates and the people operating them. That's not supposed to be possible yet, somehow, it is. The investigation leads Greer into one of the areas reserved for people who don't approve of surrogates. Then, Greer is forced to give up his own surrogate and continue the investigation with his own face and his own skin.

Overall review: ** The movie has an interesting concept but it never realizes its full potential. The murder plot gets mixed up with the philosophy of what it means to be human, and the result is something of a mess. I can recall seeing trailers for this movie in the theater and thinking that it looked interesting. It is, kind of, but I'm glad I didn’t spend money on a ticket to see it.