Surrogates (2009)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:99
Fresh:39
Rotten:60
Average Rating:5.4/10
Consensus: Though it sports a slick look and feel, Surrogates fails to capitalize on a promising premise, relying instead on mindless action and a poor script.
Rated: 12A [See Full Rating] for intense sequences of violence, disturbing images, language, sexuality and a drug-related scene.
Genre: Science-Fiction/Fantasy
Theatrical Release:25-09-2009
Synopsis: FBI agents (BRUCE WILLIS and RADHA MITCHELL) investigate the mysterious murder of a college student linked to the man who helped create a high-tech surrogate phenomenon that allows people to... FBI agents (BRUCE WILLIS and RADHA MITCHELL) investigate the mysterious murder of a college student linked to the man who helped create a high-tech surrogate phenomenon that allows people to purchase unflawed robotic versions of themselves – fit, good looking remotely controlled machines that ultimately assume their life roles – enabling people to experience life vicariously from the comfort and safety of their own homes. The murder spawns a quest for answers: in a world of masks, who’s real and who can you trust? --© Touchstone Pictures [More]
Starring: Bruce Willis, Radha Mitchell, Rosamund Pike, Boris Kodjoe
Starring: Bruce Willis, Radha Mitchell, Rosamund Pike, Boris Kodjoe, James Cromwell, Ving Rhames, James Francis Ginty
Director: Jonathan Mostow
Director: Jonathan Mostow
Screenwriter: Michael Ferris, John Brancato
Producer: David Hoberman, Todd Lieberman, Max Handelman
Composer: Richard Marvin
Studio: Touchstone Pictures
Reviews for Surrogates
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The ideas probably have a bit more juice than the movie, but it’s still an alert piece of entertainment. Full Review |
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An attractive slice of glossy dystopian sci-fi shenanigans from the team behind Terminator 3 sees Bruce Willis reprising the one-cop-against-the-system role that he could by now play in his sleep. Or even via a remote controlled robotic surrogate. Full Review |
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There's enough sugar-rush energy on display to ensure it's never dull. Full Review |
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The action scenes feel curtailed and a little cheesy, but it has a veneer of day-glo creepiness which holds the attention. Full Review |
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Too often it feels like one of the robotic surrogates was left in charge of the scripting and directing duties for large portions of the movie. Full Review |
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A more cerebral thriller than your standard sci-fi fare, Mostow strikes just the right balance between in-your-face action and social comment on technology as a lifestyle. Full Review |
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Wasting the chance to be a great, resonant SF metaphor, Surrogates ultimately proves as bland and empty as its pretty mechanical protagonists. Full Review |
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The beauty of Surrogates lies not so much in the somewhat conventional thriller plot, though it is efficiently crafted and keeps the audience guessing up to the end. Full Review |
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Asimov it isn't but, for crash bang wallop, Surrogates hits most of the right buttons. Full Review |
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Surrogates favours action-packed, empty-headed spectacle over credible, coherent plot and the brief running time leaves you wondering what they left on the cutting room floor. Full Review |
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This disjointed if sporadically striking science fiction gives the impression of having been heavily re-cut. Full Review |
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Seems less like a 21st Century would-be blockbuster than a lost 80's relic only just rediscovered. Either way, we're lucky to have it. Full Review |
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The end result is somewhat underwhelming. It's more of a novella than a novel, and hardly the science fiction action blockbuster audiences were expecting. Full Review |
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...viewers with even a passing interest in science fiction will find something worth embracing here. Full Review |
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Good ideas rub up against bad ideas, and the result is a movie that is worth a look but could have been much more. Full Review |
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This predictable flick executed in a numbingly pedestrian fashion, has slapped a nifty conceit onto its threadbare mystery-thriller plot, but has somehow managed to miss every opportunity to take advantage of it Full Review |
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Has all the get-up-and-go of a dead battery. Full Review |
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Its humanity, some cool technology and Bruce Willis save this film from simply being a compilation of a zillion similarly themed "too much technology" lessons. Full Review |
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SF chillers of the past that warned about dehumanization -- 'Invaders from Mars,' for example -- posited an outside threat; now, in a 21st-century world of plastic surgery and online avatars, the danger comes from within: the dehumanization is voluntary. Full Review |
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Semi-plausible and semi-watchable futuristic (but still looking like today's world) dystopian 'save the world' sci-fi thriller. Full Review |
Latest News for Surrogates
October 03, 2009:
New: Brand New Trailer and Poster. ![]()
More...
September 28, 2009:
Watch RT This Week on Current TV
This week, The Rotten Tomatoes Show will be looking at the movies that opened over the weekend, with help from you (the Rotten Tomatoes community), the Current TV community, and... More...
September 24, 2009:
Critics Consensus: Surrogates Is A Passable Thriller
This week at the movies, we've got robot clones (Surrogates, starring Bruce Willis and Radha Mitchell), artistic-minded freshmen (Fame, starring Kelsey Grammer and Megan... More...
September 24, 2009:
Will Surrogates Struggle to Number One? ![]()
It's projected to take the box office crown this weekend, but Jonathan Mostow's "Surrogates" has been dogged by studio turmoil and rumors of behind-the-scenes friction. More...
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