Surrogates

REVIEW: SURROGATES IMDB

WALKING IN F&T (FEARS AND THOUGHTS)

• The movie was going to be too short (YES)
• The previews were giving away the ending (YES AND NO)
• Watered-down plot and simplifications for audiences
• It is September, if this movie was thought to be really good, it would have been released Summer/Christmas

OPENING SCENE

• Interesting beginning - layered the news like District 9
• Plot was believable; from the premise of surrogates to Bruce's decisions and motivations in the end
• The writers had a humor to bring in some reality - the fat white guy, Bruce's comments to the Surrogate at VSI
• Impressive effects, very believable
• First act was straight out of the book, which is (probably) why it was optioned
• Ending was WAAY better in the book (wife killed herself, they never had a child)
• Wow, another evil mega-corp...and where did they go?
• Technology of Surrogates was the only thing that seemed advanced, cars, weapons, helos, were all current (budgetary constraints)
• Like Jonathan Mostow's past work Breakdown, U-571 (not T3) - somewhat intelligent movies...

...OTHER SCENES

• The 'old electronics store' - there was a 360, rock band controller, crazy Japanese font (match the originals makers - straight from the achiobar district)
• The 'football sign' - had the head of another football's player in the hands of another
• The Prophet had Italian thugs
• All women were endowed
• drugs (like shane acker's 9) Jacking using the Austin Powers utensil!!
• The general and his desk - bullets across the entire front?
• One heck of a way to end an argument - unplug yourself
• Some really nice apartments, guess it would be nice if you never left...(Great floor lighting)
• Nice "re-spawn" in the "peace-keeping" exercise...

QUESTIONS:

• Couldn't you have multiple surrogates and travel the world at any time? (there was a law against it)
• Was it me or was the 'human only' area nothing but white people, besides the prophet?
• Agoraphobia would grow at alarming rates?
• What other things today are taking a toll on our relationships? Facebook, texting?
• They never mentioned the benefits of Surrogacy - dangerous jobs, the disabled, etc
• Would the Army really shelve a weapon that might kill someone? Is that not why they exist in the first place?
• What ever happened to the evil mega-corp? They were just kind of forgotten about...(more messing with the editing)

THE MACGUFFIN

• The handheld surrogate zapper (looked like a dirt devil)

CLOSING THOUGHTS

Chuck MacGuffin - Rating: 3.5 

• Positives:
  • The movie was very enjoyable to watch the story unfold
  • It showed us a possible future as our knowledge of the brain increases
  • Bruce Willis has a strong history with me of keeping the story entertaining
• Negative:
  • Too short
  • Rushed the whole story and didn't give you time to really soak a lot of their realm

Mike MacGuffin - Rating: 2

• Positives:
  • Exciting up until the end of the second act
  • Basic theme of Internet (chat room, death match, AFK on the can) was maintained
  • Wonderful job of "youthing" Bruce Willis
  • Nice subtle job of making the Surrogates just the littlest bit robotic. They were also turned off when nothing interesting going on (on the train)
• Negative:
  • Book protagonist had to live by his wits, Bruce just started smashing things, retro feel with him getting hit in the face constantly
  • Plot became needlessly complicated, was much more simple in book
  • Ending was bad, too much focus on the main character
  • Could have been a new Blade Runner, but ended up being a new Virtuosity
  • The couples' fight in the hallway was terrible writing and acting that reeks of a reshoot...