Surrogates is due in theaters, September 25, 2009 and this article has some useful, indepth information about the film.
Surrogates is an upcoming 2009 science
fiction film, based on the 2005–2006 comic book series of the same name. The
film is directed by Jonathan Mostow and stars Bruce Willis.
Surrogates
is scheduled to be released on September 25, 2009.
Plot
In 2017, humans live in near-total isolation, rarely leaving the safety and
comfort of their homes, thanks to remotely-controlled robotic bodies that serve
as "surrogates," designed as better-looking versions of their human operators.
Because people are safe all the time, and damage done to a surrogate is not felt
by its owner, it is a peaceful world free from fear, pain, and crime.
Agent Tom Greer (played by Willis) is an FBI agent who, through the use of his
own surrogate, investigates the first murder in years: Jarod, the college
student son of the man who invented the surrogates, and who uses multiple
surrogates himself. The case grows more complicated, however, when several
humans are murdered when their surrogates are destroyed, something which is not
supposed to happen, as the human operator is normally safe from the damage done
to his/her surrogate. Feeling increasingly detached due to the world of
surrogates, Greer discovers that in order to actually catch the killer he will
have to physically venture outside the safety of his home for the first time in
many years, and enlists the aid of another agent in tracking his target down.
Greer begins investigating the murder and is lead to the Dreads, a group of
humans led by a mysterious man known only as The Prophet (played by Ving Rhames)
who are against the use of surrogates. Greer and his partner Peters (played by
Radha Mitchell) determine the identity of the murderer is a Dread named Miles.
Miles used a unique weapon to kill Jarod as well as five cops tracking him with
the weapon. Greer barely escapes death by the weapon. He survives by
disconnecting himself from his surrogate as the weapon is fired, and then
resumes his connection to the surrogate afterwards. Although his surrogate is
physically damaged, it is able to pursue Miles before his surrogate is destroyed
by the Dreads. Greer is badly hurt by the weapon despite disconnecting. He is
found in his apartment by his wife Maggie (played by Rosamund Pike). She prefers
interacting through her surrogate, even with her husband in the privacy of their
home. We learn that the couple is particularly distant from each other as they
grieve over their young son who died in a car accident. Greer is taken to the
hospital and survives, although he is suspended and is not allowed to use a
surrogate while his actions are investigated.
At the Dread Reservation, Miles is approached by The Prophet who demands
information about the weapon. Miles is apparently killed by The Prophet or his
lackeys. When Greer goes into the Reservation, he stumbles upon Miles' funeral
and then approaches The Prophet, asking about the weapon Miles used. As Greer
leaves the Reservation, it is revealed that The Prophet has the weapon. Greer
meets with Dr. Canter, again using one of his surrogates, who suggests the
weapon was manufactured by the military. Greer meets with a member of the
military and learns that the weapon sends a computer virus into the surrogates
that shuts them down, but it also disables the failsafe mechanisms and kills the
operator.
A mysterious surrogate goes to the home of Greer's partner Peters and kills her,
then transfers control of her surrogate to an unknown party who uses it to go
through the financial records of the FBI. The Peters surrogate learns that
Stone, Peters and Greer's boss, is apparently behind the death of Jarod, having
been assigned by the company that creates the surrogates to kill Dr. Canter
which he in turn assigned to Miles. Jarod was using one of his father's
surrogates and as such was mistaken for him. At the Dread compound, The Prophet
orders delivery of the weapon to Peters just before the military attacks. The
Prophet and his men are killed, but The Prophet is revealed to be a surrogate of
Doctor Canter. The Peters surrogate tricks Greer into getting information about
the weapon from Stone's computer. The Peters surrogate then flees from Greer,
taking the information and the weapon. Greer chases her, but she escapes and
goes to FBI headquarters where she takes a human system administrator (who does
not use a surrogate) hostage and hooks the weapon up the surrogate network to
kill all the surrogate operators.
Greer calls the system administrator who reveals that Peters has taken him
hostage. Greer heads to Canter's home and forces his way into Dr. Canter's home
to find him. At the FBI building, the Peters surrogate forces Stone to come talk
to her. Dr. Canter reveals that he is now controlling the Peters surrogate.
Stone confirms he did try to have Canter assassinated, and Canter kills Stone
with the weapon and returns to uploading the weapon's virus to all the
surrogates. Greer makes his way through Canter's mansion and finds Canter's many
surrogates which includes the one that killed the real Peters. Greer then finds
Canter (who disconnects from the Peters surrogate) who then reveals he wants to
destroy the surrogates so that real humans can return to their prior lifestyle.
Canter has already started the process through the Peters surrogate, and then he
kills himself. Greer takes control of the Peters surrogate. With the assistance
of the system administrator, Greer insulates the surrogate operators so they
will survive even if the surrogates go down. He is then given the choice of
whether or not to save the surrogates. FBI troops storm the room as Greer
decides not to cancel the transmission before the Peters surrogate is killed.
The virus from the weapon uploads and destroys every surrogate worldwide,
leaving their operators alive, but having to go back to using their real bodies
again. Greer goes home and connects with his wife in her real body. Media
broadcasts reveal the surrogates are down worldwide and no one knows if they
will ever be able to be recreated again.
Cast
- Bruce Willis as Agent Greer, a cop who
investigates the murder of others' surrogates.
- Radha Mitchell as Agent Peters, Agent
Greer's partner.
- Rosamund Pike as Maggie Greer, Agent Greer's
wife.
- Ving Rhames as The Prophet, a cult figure
who disdains surrogates and plans an uprising.
- Boris Kodjoe as Anthony Stone
- Jack Noseworthy as Strickland
- James Francis Ginty as Dr. Lionel Canter
Production
In March 2007, Disney acquired feature film rights
to the 2005–2006 comic book series The Surrogates with the intent to
distribute under Touchstone Pictures. The project was conceived by Max Handelman
and Elizabeth Banks, and they enlisted producer Todd Lieberman to move it
forward. Under Disney, Jonathan Mostow was attached to direct the film based on
an adapted screenplay by Michael Ferris and John Brancato. The following
November, Bruce Willis was cast to star in the lead role. Filming was scheduled
to begin in February 2008 in Lynn, Massachusetts. It was delayed, beginning on
April 29, 2008 in Woburn. Filming also took place in the Massachusetts cities
Worcester, Milford, Hopedale, Taunton, Lawrence, and Wayland. Visual Effects
were handled by Brickyard VFX. In 2002, American Movie Classics showed an edited version of the film, with all
edits from the broadcast version, and including other small minor cuts and added
footage. Examples include:
Reception
Critical Reception
Surrogates received mostly mixed reviews from Rotten Tomatoes, with only 38% of
critics giving the film a positive review, based upon a sample of 84 reviews.
Metacritic gives the film an average score of 47, based on 19 reviews.
Box office
Surrogates opened to #2 at the box office with approximately $15
million, failing to beat
Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs in its second weekend.
This article uses material from the Wikipedia
article "Surrogates" and is licensed under the
GNU Free Documentation License.
