By Ken Shallcross
Based on the comic book series/graphic novel by Robert
Venditti and Brett Weldele, Surrogates is Jonathan Mostow's latest film
that takes a look into a future world where people stay in the comfort of their
own homes, while controlling robotic surrogate bodies to carry out their daily
lives. On Blu-ray, the film packs an audio punch while giving great visuals but
very few special features. Is it worth your money?
THE FILM:
[From IMDB] In the
not too distant future, technology allows humans to live their lives through
robots they call Surrogates. Humans have in effect cocooned themselves in their
homes, never venturing outside. Rather, they explore life through their
Surrogates who may or may not resemble them. Tom Greer (Bruce Willis) and his
partner Peters (Radha Mitchell) are FBI agents assigned to investigate the
destruction of two Surrogates that has also caused the unthinkable: the human
hosts were also killed. The use of Surrogates
is not universally endorsed with some humans living in technology and
machine-free zones. Led by a man called The Prophet (Ving Rhames), the fear is
that they have put their hands on a weapon that would fundamentally change human
society. Greer believes they have also put their hands on a weapon that could
fundamentally change society, though he begins to wonder if that might be a good
thing…
For more background on the film, read the Q&A with Mostow posted
on our website.
A lot of folks have bashed this using the "nothing we haven't seen before"
line, citing films like I, Robot, Minority
Report, The Island (which I made note of) and
Blade Runner to back up their claim. But is there really
anything left we haven't seen? Isn't everything a sort of derivative
from at least a few other existing stories?
Personally, I was completely caught off-guard by this movie. I was not
familiar with the comic books at all, but I am a sucker for the genre and sci-fi
in general (not to mention being a big fan of dirty Bruce), so I took the review
on. My overall thoughts are good, but I just like to be entertained. I'd pick a
flashy movie like this over some boring, slow-moving Up in the
Air drama any day.
Though a major difference from the original comics is the date in which the
story takes place, Mostow's choice of making this film feel more "now" than
"future" was great. Likewise, the ability of the actors to play robotic clones
one minute and then the actual human characters the next was fantastic. I have
to give a shout out to Mitchell, who not only played her human character (though
minimally) and her character's surrogate, but she also had to assume the mental
identity of several other characters controlling her as a surrogate. It's a fun,
enthralling movie with a good story and a foreboding message. I recommend at
least the rental…
But is the Blu-ray worth your money?
HD SOUND + VISION:
There's no
question that the Blu-ray AVC encoded 1080p visuals (2.40:1 aspect ratio) are
the way to go on this futuristic film. The ultra clarity helps definite the
characteristics between the "underwear model"-esque Surrogates and
the real humans. The differences in hue between the human areas of town (of
course, in the future, there are those that oppose the technology-driven
surrogate lifestyle) and the rest of the world are very noticeable. In fact, in
a scene where a surrogate SWAT team raids the human camp, the perfect robots
actually look out of place against the more Earthy real-life part of town. Of
course, being a sci-fi movie and staring Bruce Willis, you can expect lots of
stunts, car chases, explosions and all-around general on-screen chaos too - all
bettered with the razor sharp transfer of Blu-ray.
The audio is equally as impressive, if not more so. The English 5.1 DTS-HA
Master Audio track gives perfect quiet to the somber scenes and shakes the room
as helicopters crash from the sky. French and Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1
Surround tracks are also included. Subtitles are available in English, French
and Spanish.
PACKAGING/ LAYOUT:
Perhaps the most
boring part of Surrogates is the packaging: blue snapcase,
cardboard slipcover, attractive movie poster image on front, BRD details and
specs on back, single disc and single advert (for Blu-ray technology - why?! I
already invested - why advertise this to me?!). The menus take a bit to load,
but when they do they are seamless and easy to navigate. Nothing out of sorts or
extraordinary to report here.
Surrogates runs just 89 minutes and is split into
17 chapters.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
This is where I get to rant a
bit. There seems to be a new trend with studios: they are offering fewer and
fewer bonus materials (read: incentive) to purchase movies on home video disc.
This has escalated to a point now where many DVDs are almost bare-bones and
Blu-rays offer just a few more items, so they can still claim they offer "more
features." True, they do, but we're only talking a total of less than 30
minutes. What happened to Blu-ray being the new forefront to deliver a total
experience to fans willing to buck up for a more expensive item?
For Surrogates, the DVD and Blu-ray come with an
Audio Commentary by Mostow and a cheesy music video. The Blu-ray's "exclusive"
content is just two short featurettes and four even-shorter deleted scenes:
- Audio Commentary by Director Jonathan Mostow - Mostow delivers a
solo commentary that is average. First of all, solo commentaries are boring;
second, while directors are great, they can tend to be dry. I have to admit I
tuned out for a bit after hearing the same voice for an hour, but you do get a
lot of good tidbits on the film and it is what you would expect from the head
of the film. Most noteworthy trivia: "Bobby," the portly computer technician
that helps the FBI, is "Buzz McCallister" from Home Alone!! It is
disappointing, however, that the producers of the Blu-ray didn't take
advantage of the disc format and add a visual element to the commentary.
-
A More Perfect You: The Science of Surrogates (HD, 14:34) -
This little featurette is as informative as it is entertaining. Interviews with
cast and crew, plus a few professionals in the field of robotics, look at the
imagined world of Surrogates. Some of the film's effects work is
detailed and you get a brief look at a guy in Japan that made a robot head of
himself.
- Breaking the Frame: A Graphic Novel Comes to Life (HD, 6:33) -
This is a very short making of for the film that concentrates on the comic
books and features interviews with creators Venditti and Weldele.
- Deleted Scenes (HD, 6:03) - There are four short deleted scenes
here that don't entirely add to the film. Easy to see why they were cut…
- "I Will Not Bow" Music Video by Breaking Benjamin (HD, 3:49) -
Ugh. Today's music is so lame. Sounds like Nickelback + Fuel + 3 Doors Down.
But it is in 2.40:1 HD and features clips from the film.
TECHNOLOGY BECOMES US:
It's no Die
Hard, or even Fifth Element for that matter, but the
film warrants a viewing by anyone into the action/ sci-fi genre, and fans of
Bruce. On Blu-ray the sound is fantastic and visuals are very strong, but the
lack of utilizing the power of Blu-ray to present a consumer-worthy release is
disappointing. only the two featurettes are worthwhile, and their total running
time is about 20 minutes. Adding salt to the wound is the price of $24 on
Amazon.com… My advice: rent.
FILM SCORE: B-
HD SOUND: A
HD VISION: A-
PACKAGING/ LAYOUT: D
SPECIAL FEATURES: D+
OVERALL BLU-RAY SCORE: C-
