Surrogates

If Mostow has been considered a solid craftsman up to now, he will now be considered a desperate routinist... and a thief to boot. As long as it still follows the popcorn rules à la I, Robot, we can enjoy the slightly B-movie atmosphere, which is carried by Willis's cynical smile and funny toupee. Then we get some mentoring according to Issac Asimov and Phillip K. Dick in the visual diction of Terminator 3 and everything goes to hell. It wouldn't have had to be this way if someone had bothered to add some extra runtime, given the characters some life, and if the film had at least one memorable scene. The result is the most ridiculous blockbuster of the year, which I predict will become a cult film in a few years and a must-have in the "guilty pleasure" collectors' kit. (2009-10-23)

I was expecting a film in the style of I, Robot, offering an interesting story spiced up with great visuals, but I’m not as impressed with the final result. Jonathan Mostow is a skilled director, Terminator 3 has quality, but Surrogates didn’t blow me away. The idea is unconventional and quite refreshing, and in today’s film industry, I’m glad for every novel concept that comes along. But it's true that I wouldn’t classify the film's execution as above average. The plot was very weak, and from the start, it was predictable who the villain would be. With such a high budget, I expected a more A-list production, but some scenes felt more like B-movie quality (which I don’t understand, because a large amount of money was indeed poured into the film). Bruce Willis is the main highlight of the film; I enjoyed his dual role, and it was clear that he still fits into such roles. The other actors delivered passable performances as well. A few scenes were quite good (for example, the one with the helicopter), but overall, not much stuck with me. It had higher potential. 67%. (2017-10-25)

The square root of film adaptations of Phillip K. Dick, both the good and the bad ones. A generic and stupid sci-fi B-movie with a not stupid idea that the right hands could be the base of a new Blade Runner. In the end, it’s actually like Total Recall, but without the action. (2009-10-05)

I remembered the film from 2009 as pretty good sci-fi fun, so I wanted to recall it years later. Surrogates is a good movie, it just has trouble crossing over into the "better" movie category. Jonathan Mostow unfortunately isn't that experienced a director and didn’t have to climb the filmmaking ranks of other big names, and that's probably where the whole result stems from. For the kind of material he's working with here, he doesn’t the potential to its fullest, the concept of surrogates and the sci-fi world is so broad that it could have been worked into at least a two-hour feature or better yet a series; 85 minutes is definitely not enough to do that, it feels very abbreviated and straightforward, which on the one hand makes the film move quickly and doesn't get boring, but on the other hand it offers a feeling of incompleteness. That said, as an average action film for an undemanding viewer it works fine. (2023-01-04)

Definitely above average. Neither Bruce Willis nor Jonathan Mostow disappointed and they made a quality summer spectacle, but it didn't hit the movie theaters until the autumn. Oh well. The film went by pleasantly fast, 90 minutes felt like nothing, it hardly lost momentum and everything in it was clear and nice to look at. I have no reservations about the action scenes and effects, or the actors and actresses. Don't expect philosophy, don't expect "another Matrix or I, Robot", expect fun with a bit of thought put into it. (2009-10-16)