Bruce Willis may be best known for his iconic role as action hero John McClane in the Die Hard franchise. He has also starred in sci-fi blockbusters including The Fifth Element, 12 Monkeys, and Looper. His 2009 feature, Surrogates, wasn't as popular or well-received compared to Willis' other sci-fi pictures, but it deserves more attention than it gets.
Surrogates has some intriguing concepts based on evolutionary technology, and how robots have the capability to control every aspect of human life in a so-called perfect world. Despite playing a cop again, the movie also provides Willis with a more vulnerable character who's caught in the middle of a war between a technological corporation and human revolutionaries who don't want machines commanding their way of life.
What Is Surrogates about?
Surrogates is about a futuristic world in which people from all walks of life (military soldiers, police officers, regular everyday workers, etc.) use humanoid remote-controlled robots to run their personal and professional lives. These robots were initially developed for prosthetic use before being used in people's daily lives. While using their surrogates, the actual individuals who own it control it from home to stay safe.
Willis portrays Tom Greer, an FBI agent living in Boston who investigates the murder of two people after their surrogates were destroyed by a high-powered weapon. One of the victims is Jared Canter, the son of Dr. Lionel Canter, the person responsible for inventing surrogates. As Tom and his partner, Agent Jennifer Peters (Radha Mitchell, best known for the horror film Silent Hill) are working on the case, Tom is also dealing with personal conflict at home. He and his wife Maggie (Rosamund Pike) mourn the loss of their son after he died in a car accident.
Maggie appears to believe that living her stylish lifestyle as a cosmetologist with the use of a surrogate can mask her emotions and grief for her late son. However, Tom wants to actually spend time with his wife without the use of robots so that they can physically and emotionally connect with each other again. Tom's grief for his son connects with his case when sharing his loss with Dr. Lionel Canter, who expresses his sadness over losing Jared. The investigation establishes how beneficial surrogates can be when used for crime fighting or engaging in warfare, while also questioning how safe they really are for human operators.
Why Is Surrogates Underrated?
Surrogates is an underrated sci-fi film because it contains a familiar premise involving a conflict between humans and machines. However, the story raises intriguing questions about whether people need machines on a daily, consistent basis. In the film, many people want to rely on cloned robots of themselves to make their lives easier, safer, and more manageable. Others don't trust surrogates because they think it's just another dangerous, addictive form of government control.
The opening montage sequence perfectly sets up the premise. It shows the evolution of surrogates in a fourteen-year time span, from prosthetics being used and controlled by the minds of disabled individuals and animals, to robots placed in war so that human soldiers don't have to risk their lives on the battlefield. The montage also displays how surrogates are created to resemble the "perfect" aesthetic and body image of actual people. Surrogates are also very tough and move and jump at a rapid pace, even though they can easily be shot and stabbed (as shown in a few action sequences involving Willis' character, both the surrogate and his human form).
Willis may be portraying another cop, but unlike the charismatic energy of John McClane, Tom Greer is a sharp, hard-edged investigator who does his job well in a case with many twists and turns. Greer is also a sentimental humanist who dislikes the divisive world he lives in, and feels that surrogates have taken away how people emotionally connect with each other. Greer doesn't have as many action scenes, but when he does, he gets beat up while managing to strategically bounce back. The character's surrogate also has a fast-paced chase scene when pursuing a suspect, as well as a brief moment reuniting Willis with his Pulp Fiction co-star Ving Rhames (who portrays The Prophet, a cult figure inspiring many to go against the use of surrogates).
What Other Movies Are Like Surrogates?
Surrogates is reminiscent of many other sci-fi features, including director Jonathan Mostow's own Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines in terms of technology and evil machines overtaking the human race. I, Robot with Will Smith and James Cromwell (who also stars in Surrogates as Lionel Canter) is very similar to this film because both plots depict robots as useful mechanisms for humans — until the protagonist sniffs out their harmful impacts on society during the course of a homicide investigation.
Surrogates also resembles Michael Bay's The Island. Each film tackles how clones are taken advantage of by shady corporations for scientific and experimental gain. The 6th Day, starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, is another story about cloning, but unlike Surrogates, human cloning is considered illegal. One major similarity is that Arnold and his clone take on a corrupt billionaire of a tech corporation, like Willis' Greer uncovering flaws and conspiracies behind Dr. Canter and the surrogate technology.
Replicas (a Keanu Reeves sci-fi film that wasn't well-received) also displays the pros and cons of cloning. Reeves' character creates clones of his wife and children to bring the memory of his family back after they tragically die in an accident. However, this causes him and his tech company to go under scrutiny.
Surrogates may be a predictable sci-fi thriller that is similar to other futuristic movies about clones and advanced technology, but it gives audiences a glimpse of how beneficial and dangerous robots can be for humans and their everyday lives.