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Surrogates, a review by Dragonfire

I decided to go see Surrogates earlier this week. 

The movie is based on a comic book series that I haven't read.  It is about people using robot replacements - surrogates - in their daily lives while the people stay at home.  People are more disconnected from each other, even from their spouses.  Crime rates have gone down so much that the is basically no crime anymore.  Then someone uses a weapon that not only disables two surrogates, but kills the people who were operating them.  The FBI investigates and eventually Agent Greer is doing things as himself instead of as his surrogate.

The plot for the movie is very interesting, though I don't think it was developed enough.  The fact that some people don't like surrogates and are against the use does come out, but it isn't explored enough to make that a strong aspect of the plot.  No moral questions are raised about using surrogates.  There really isn't an explanation for how everyone can afford one.  There is no mention of what using one for hours on end every day does to people's health.  It is pointed out that people are more detached because of living through the surrogates, but even that isn't fully explored.  I think the movie would have been stronger if those things had been dealt with.

There is some action and a bit of violence in the movie, but nothing extreme.  The special effects are fine, though nothing outstanding.  The surrogates look attractive, though there is something about them that is slightly unnatural looking.  It is sort of a ..plastic look to the skin and there is a detached look in the eyes.  Not many actual humans are shown.  Most of the surrogates just look like younger, more attractive versions of the people operating them, though some of them look completely different.  None of the characters are developed that well, so they are all rather flat.  There isn't anything impressive about the acting either.

The movie is interesting and entertaining for the most part, but it could have been a better movie if more attention had been given to the plot.

 

I did get a review posted on Epinions.

Surrogates

(From Surrogates on October 3rd, 2009)

Frenzy, a review by Jon

Frenzy (1972)
5 out of 5



In modern-day London, a sex criminal known as the Necktie Murderer has the police on alert, and in typical Hitchcock fashion, the trail is leading to an innocent man, who must now elude the law and prove his innocence by finding the real murderer.  Jon Finch, Alec McCowen and Barry Foster head this British cast in the thriller that alternates suspense scenes with moments of Hitchcock's distinctive black humour.

Returning to England after a dry spell in the States that put his reputation in real danger, Alfred Hitchcock went back to basics and found his mojo alive and well residing in Covent Garden, London, site of the famous market where much of this story would play out and where his own father worked years before. I don't think he had lost anything, but he came to London with his blood up and something to prove, and prove it he did, because FrenzyVertigo being entwined in San Francisco. I liked the other latterly missed Hitchcock motif; two gentlemen in a pub discuss the murders with relish, similar to the morbid curiosity of Shadow of a Doubtlook

(From Alfred Hitchcock Marathon on May 9th, 2010)

Pete's Pilots, a review by addicted2dvd

M.A.N.T.I.S
FROM THE CREATORS OF THE EVIL DEAD AND ARMY OF DARKNESS comes the crime-fighting saga that beats them all! Using a newly invented metal exoskeleton that provides superhuman abilities, wheelchair-bound Dr. Miles Hawkins (Alias' Carl Lumbly) embarks on a quest to rid his city of the ever-growing plague of crime terrorizing its citizens. This action-packed series broke new ground with television's first African-American superhero and became an instant cult favorite, now exploding onto DVD for the first time!

Pilot
Two rival gangs are being set up to disrupt an election.

My Thoughts:
This is a series that I only ever seen a handful of episodes of before getting the DVD set. But it looked like a fun series and the set was cheap enough... so I took the chance on it. At this point I still only seen a handful of episodes. It seems to be an enjoyable show... but I have definitely seen better. I would say at least to this point it is just average.

My Ratings:

(From Pete's Pilots on March 25th, 2010)