Surrogates (2009)

This review contains slight spoilers and Bruce Willis appreciation.

The idea of Surrogates has been one that's been around for a long time, but was mainly popularized by 'The Sims' and 'Sim City' - a virtual world, in which normal people control simulated CGI versions of themselves, as a way to escape reality. This is also why people get so addicted to MMOs and RPGs such as World of Warcraft or Oblivion - it's easy to lose all of the restraints of the outside world and therefore enter a fantasy, sometimes so immersive and believeable you'll never want to leave.

Surrogates takes this idea and puts it to use in every day life rather than a fantasy setting, where people control the titular 'Surrogates' using their mind - a set of robotic people without illness, creed, discrimination or violence. Crime rates have gone right down, and everything seems much better for the people. Or, so it would appear - until the first murder in years sets Detective Tom Greer (Bruce Willis) on a mission to see why, leading to a conspiracy that started over a decade ago that could change the human race forever.

Willis plays his part extremely well as the detective with an upsetting past but he really shines as his non-computerized counterpart - the genuine Tom Greep, as he tries to settle back into the world around him and re-adapt to the new population. Radha Mitchell also does very well in her part, at one point effectively playing three people and Rosamund Pike (Miranda Frost in Die Another Day, so you don't spend the entire movie wondering where you've seen her before) also does her best as the manic depressive Mrs. Greer, who never really got over the death of her son which keeps pushing her and Tom away, to the point where they barely speak and Maggie never removes from her surrogate, even in the privacy of her own home.

The thing about Surrogates is that whilst it is a good movie, there's not really much to say about it, other than the acting is good and the plot is solid. Nothing really groundbreakingly new happens - nothing that will staple Surrogates as one for the ages and no scenes really bring out a wow factor, despite some coming close - I'm sure if they had gone for the ending in the comic rather than the one on screen I may change that, but apart from that it's just a good 90 minute science fiction romp that does all it wants and achieves it well, doing eveything it needs to do right right and nothing really that badly.

Overall: It's worth a look, even just to see Willis or add it to the growing collection of 2009 good science fiction movies. See it, but don't expect Moon or District 9.

7.5/10.