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Surrogates Movie Poster
Surrogates

A movie released September 25, 2009

< read all 14 reviews

A good idea and ingenious plot gone to waste by poor production values...

  • Dec 30, 2009
  • by
Rating:
-2
I've seen movies like this before. Many times before The Matrix, I Robot, Minority Report, The Terminator. The list goes on, while this film lacks originality in the main focal point of the plot it does give a very nice and enjoyable spin on an old tale.




Surrogates is a highly entertaining but ultimately flawed movie due to it's reliance on formula. But it's idea is solid and it's execution is very thought out. So why is it that this film fell flat on it's face? Well there are three good reasons for it: 1.) It's story while entertaining and fresh has been done far too many times before to count. 2.) it's heavy on the action and look and feel of the film but the film crew threw out the idea of giving this movie a well written script and thought that action and eye candy could save it from being a failure, but sad to say it didn't. 3.) The wooden acting from most the cast really brings down the film's production value and makes this almost hard to watch. But if your forgiving and can get over the lousy acting by most of the supporting cast, then I can promise you that this film will give you a good, high tech thrill ride.



Bruce Willis(Who's done way, way better than this.) Gives one of the least impressive performances in a long time, he's so wooden and bland in this it's almost funny when he speaks, but I don't blame him(I blame the lousy directing and script.) Willis tries so hard to really up the appeal of this film but sorry to say he falls short thanks to a terrible supporting cast and there bad acting. Rhada Mitchell(who is my least favorite actress.) is one of the main weak links in this film she really brings down the film and also drags Willis with her. She was really wooden and emotionless(Which is no surprise there she's a terrible actress.) But I think without her this film could have at least stayed a float a little better than it did. But all in all the cast does hold up fairly well under the poor script and bad direction.




Surrogates is nothing groundbreaking or earth shattering. It's a run of the mill Sci-FI action thriller that has an extraordinarily intriguing premise that if it was not mired down by, like I said, bad dialog and poor direction this would have been a top notch film. But none the less it settles for alright. And I can tell you that if your very, very forgiving and kind than this film will give you your money's worth.
A good idea and ingenious plot gone to waste by poor production values...

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December 30, 2009
Ideas being done over and over again is the walk of life, but I defintely agree with where you're getting at with the fact that execution (particarly the writing and directing) are part of what makes it so that we can stand to see the same ideas over and over again, only tweaked. 

I wasn't too impressed either.  Some of the action was okay, but the story was REALLY predictable... no well done execution here.  Characters also felt kind of bland.
 
December 30, 2009
Thank you for the review. I would have liked to see a description of the film's plot, because, although you state that it's been done several times before, I still don't know what the film is about. Other than that, great job.
 
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More Surrogates reviews
review by . October 01, 2009
 Last night, I saw "Surrogates," starring Bruce Willis.  If you haven't heard of the movie, it's about a world where everyone uses perfect-looking robots to live the life that they can't live.  It's something that touches on the current advancement of this type of technology that keeps evolving. The movie idea was great, but trying to tie all the loose ends, made you wish that they had more time to do this.       One of the things that they really …
review by . December 29, 2009
Jonathan Mostow has the ability to emotionally and structural sabotage any script, no matter how good the concept. JM chopped the Terminator franchise off at the knees with T3 to the point where even the Terminator 90210 TV show ignored the film completely. Now he's been presented with yet another high-concept premise and has a Michael Bay-like drive to totally f--- it up in a way so vicious that a sequel is as unlikely as someone not mistaking Bruce Willis' toupe for a Zhu Zhu hamster. Mostow should …
review by . September 26, 2009
posted in Movie Hype
Teaser poster
      Remember many years ago when people didn’t have the use of cell phones and now it seems like we can’t get by without having one? Well, the comic book adapted sci-fi action thriller “SURROGATES” does take a little stab at that idea; but in this case, it is the use of artificial beings engineered to make our lives easier. Directed by Jonathan Mostow (U-571), the film based on a screenplay by Michael Ferris and John Broncato, the film feels a little …
review by . August 13, 2010
posted in Movie Hype
The film "Surrogates" when first released in the cinema escaped my attention, and I only really watched it by both coincidence and my own laziness. Picture the scene, you have the movie channel on, it's late, you're tired and you can't find the remote. Rather than getting up to look for it I thought to myself "f*** it, I'll just watch what's on next"; what was on next was Surrogates. Suddenly very vague memories of the times seeing the trailer and thinking …
review by . September 29, 2009
posted in Movie Hype
Does anyone remember when AOL Instant Messenger, Yahoo Messenger, MMORPGs first came around and all that jazz?  And people loved jumping on Internet Forums and creating a persona for themselves or a profile?  People do these things for many reasons, but the biggest of them all seems to be to partake in escapist enjoyment.  Some people do it for the soul purpose that their life just sucks.  Happens all the time.  Surrogates isn't the first film to tackle this sort of …
review by . April 05, 2010
posted in MovieSucktastic
Surrogates falls into that category of films that end up being much better than anticipated. Films that do not screen themselves for critics ahead of the release date are usually predestined clunkers, as not wanting a write-up in the Friday papers is a red flag that the distributors are almost certain that the weekend box-office is the only shot they have of recouping costs before word of mouth kills the film. Expecting the worst, Surrogates manages to surprise with a decent story and great …
review by . October 06, 2009
 Surrogates plays like a substitute for a crime thriller. To all outward appearances it is a science-fiction whodunit, but upon closer examination, the characters and plot are underwritten and obvious, and the entire production hinges solely on the not-inconsiderable charisma of Bruce Willis. In the future, people will be able to plug in and experience life through robotic surrogates that venture out into the real world and interact with other mechanical doppelgangers. Some people rarely, …
review by . October 13, 2009
Surrogates, Ving Rhames
If nothing else, Surrogates has proven that, toupe or sans-toupe, I'm still a Bruce Willis fan. While the premise of Surrogates certainly intrigued me, in the end it was knowing that Bruce and Ving were being reunited for the first time since Pulp Fiction that brought me into the theaters for this one. The good news is that Surrogates is good. Not great, but that's okay.      It's the first half hour of the movie that was the biggest hurdle for me. The son of the inventor …
Quick Tip by . August 16, 2010
Idea was good, kind of Phillip K. Dick-esque story, but the execution, especially the ending made it feel pretty lame. Also a waste of great talent, really awesome cast.
Quick Tip by . July 12, 2010
posted in Movie Hype
I liked this movie i heard a lot of negative about this i thought it was good
see all Surrogates reviews (14)
About the reviewer
C.R. Lopez ()
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Member Since: Nov 6, 2009
Last Login: Jul 7, 2012 09:53 PM UTC
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About this movie

Wiki

Surrogates revolves around the mysterious murder of a college student linked to the man who helped create a high-tech surrogate phenomenon that allows people to purchase unflawed robotic versions of themselves, being fit and good looking remotely controlled machines that ultimately assume their life roles, enabling people to experience life vicariously from the comfort and safety of their own homes.
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Tags

Movies, Action Movies, Action, Science Fiction Movies, Film, Science Fiction, Scifi, The Forbidden Planet
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Details

Genre: Action, Sci-Fi, Adventure, Fantasy
Release Date: September 25, 2009
MPAA Rating: Unrated

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"2 ½ Stars: "Surrogate" Required to Watch This Lackluster Sci-fi Action Movie"
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