Blu-Ray Review:
Surrogates
By Jason Gillard
*Screenshots are not from the Blu-Ray source.
Movie
Current Rottentomatoes.com score 40% Fresh: 40 Rotten: 60
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
I remember seeing the initial trailer for Surrogates and thought it looked really cool. It reminded me of the Will Smith picture I, Robot. Surrogates tries to live up to that film but ultimately fails. This movie has a message and it does deliver this message fairly well. The message is that technology can be great, but when you take away all human interactions then you have a problem. Bruce Willis stars in this film, but he really doesn't have much to do. Most of the time he is sporting that really creepy hair do and looking very robotic. Now granted in these scenes he is playing a Surrogate of himself. But I really just wish this movie had a bit more substance and a little more action. There is action in the film and what is there is well done. The movie is also quite short clocking in at 89 minutes and when the film was over I was surprised because for me it ended quite abruptly. I have liked the director Johnathan Mostow's other works such as U-571 and the fabulous Breakdown starring Kurt Russell, but it just feels like this movie could have been a little longer in the script department. The movie does have some pretty cool effects, but ultimately it suffers from a poorly written script. It's too bad that they couldn't have done more with this idea. Even though I have pretty much blasted the movie I still think it deserves a rental if you're looking for something quick and flashy.
6 out of 10
Video
Surrogates arrives on Blu-ray in its original aspect ratio of 2:40.1. This 1080p transfer is quite well done. In this movie colour shows up everywhere. Whether it's the red glow when Bruce Willis is sitting in his Surrogate chair, to the steel blue's in VSI's factory. The transfer does a great job of bringing these colours out. Whenever we see a Surrogate on screen their faces are smooth like butter. They look artificial but when we see an actual human on screen the detail shows up showing us stubble and lines in peoples faces. This is obviously done to differentiate the two. Trust me when I say that Bruce Willis' hair do does that all on its own. Flesh tones are inconsistent, ranging from flushed to pale and back again. Black levels are fantastic and there are plenty of scenes where this is apparent. An example of where this transfer really shines is inside VSI's factory. There is a scene where you see the Surrogates being produced and the level of detail here is quite good. I did not see any issues with the transfer, there are a couple of soft shots but most likely that is due to the director and not the transfer. Overall fans of this movie should be really happy with what they see here.
8.5 out of 10
Audio
Disney has provided us with a great DTS-HD MA 5.1 track. This track has it all, from gun blasts, to explosions, to pulse type weapons to helicopters crashing. Dialogue is crisp and clear and the effects never get in the way which is great. The LFE channel comes across strong and tight to give weight to items and enhance explosions. Rear channels are also very active enveloping the listener in a stream of sound. The rear channels do a good job providing ambiance too. In the factory you can hear Surrogates being assembled and when Willis is on the street in human form for the first time they contribute a lot of crowd noise. Pans from one channel to the next are seamless. A great example of this is when a motorcycle is whizzing past the camera near the beginning of the film. Overall were looking at a pretty outstanding track and one that should definitely satisfy fans of the film and audiophiles alike.
9 out of 10
Extras
Audio Commentary with director Jonathan Mostow
A More Perfect You: The Science of Surrogates
Breaking the Frame: A Graphic Novel Comes to Life
Deleted Scenes
Music Video
As you can see from the list above, not much in the way of content is presented here. Mostow gives a good and through commentary, touching on all aspects of the film and even the original graphic novel. I still think you need to be a fan of the movie to sit through the commentary, but at least he is thorough and gives us a look into some of the choices for this film. The second feature is quite cool. The cast and crew along with experts talk about making the film, but what makes this feature cool is they talk about what's currently out there and how close we are to creating this type of robotic. Breaking the Frame: A Graphic Novel Comes to Life is way too short but if you would like to know more about the original graphic novel you can with this feature. There are interviews with the creators and animated panels which is cool. Overall I like what they have included, but just like the film I wish things were done in greater detail.
7 out of 10
Overall
Overall whether or not you like the film is of course up to you. But for the disc itself, we get a good transfer, great audio and some decent extras. I think you should rent it before buying it, but if you saw the film in theaters and liked it, then I can definitely recommend the disc to you.
7 out of 10