Surrogates is the latest big budget Sci-Fi movie to be unleashed by Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment on Blu-ray Disc with a January 26th release.

On the surface, Surrogates has a lot to offer, with a story about robot people and Bruce Willis in the lead role.

While the plot carries the feel of a Philip K Dick novel, the filmed version of the graphic novel doesn’t at all live up to the dark and foreboding nature of  similarly themed movies like Blade Runner.

Rather the whole thing lacks energy and style, and I can’t help but feel that here was a great opportunity squandered by some bad choices.

In Surrogates everyone who is anyone now lives their lives through a robot version of themselves.

Of course the surrogates are stronger and more capable, as well as being way better looking than their human counterparts, who have turned into ‘couch potatoes’ that never see the true light of day.

As well as the aesthetically pleasing aspect of a world filled with beautiful (robot) people,  it is also a safer way to live, with the robot taking the brunt of any unfortunate physical accident.

That is until we discover that a weapon has been created to not only destroy the robot but to also kill the human operator, and that is the inciting incident for the movie.

The FBI battles to find the weapon and its source, as the stakes ratchet up and everyone who uses a surrogate becomes at risk.

We are also subjected to the ethics questions of whether living life through a robot interface is natural or ethical, a point argued by a group called the Dread, who oppose the use of surrogates and live in communities where no robots are allowed.

Along with Bruce Willis, the cast includes Ving Rhames, Radha Mitchell, Rosamund Pike, Boris Kodjoe, James Cromwell and James Francis Ginty.

Surrogates was directed by Jonathan Mostow, the man behind U-571 and perhaps the weakest in the franchise - Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines.

The critical response to the movie was luke warm at best, with a Rotten Tomatoes score of 39% - somewhat better at the IMDb with a score of 6.3/10.

Surrogates was probably a disappointment at the cinema considering the budget - it earned $38.6M at the US box office.

The video on the disc is an AVC 1080p encode at 25.5 Mbps, and is presented in its original aspect ratio of 2.40:1.

Full resolution PNG screen captures taken directly from the disc can be seen at the details page for Surrogates.

The main audio is lossless DTS-HD Master Audio with 5.1 channels - 24 bits resolution at 48 kHz.

The disc is a dual layer BD50, with 29.4 GB used and is coded for Region A.

The supplements for the disc include the typical selection of deleted scenes and an audio commentary from director Jonathan Mostow.

The disc also includes the I Will Not Bow music video by Breaking Benjamin, along with a pair of featurettes.

The Breaking The Frame featurette presents interviews with the creators of the original graphic novel and offers comparisons between the original and the big screen adaptation.

The scientific basis of the movie concept is discussed in the A More Perfect You featurette, which contains interviews with robotics specialists, as well as cast and crew.

Surrogates as a movie is a bit of a mixed bag, though if you are familiar with Mostow’s previous films you probably have your expectations set about right.

The Blu-ray Disc is another competent release from Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment.

The retail price is $39.99, and it is available at Amazon for $23.49, saving 41%!

Extras:

• Deleted Scenes
• A More Perfect You: The Science Of Surrogates
• Breaking The Frame: A Graphic Novel Comes To Life
• ‘I Will Not Bow’ Music Video By Breaking Benjamin
• Feature Audio Commentary By Director Jonathan Mostow

Synopsis:

From the director of Terminator 3 comes a jaw-dropping psychological thriller starring the ultimate action hero, Bruce Willis. Experience every electrifying moment of this mind-blowing movie on Blu-ray Disc with its theater-quality picture and sound. In the not-so-distant future, where people experience life through perfect surrogates controlled from the safety of their own homes, murder is a thing of the past. But when a college student linked to the creator of these replicants is killed, one FBI agent must re-enter reality and risk his life to unravel the mystery. In the battle of technology versus humanity, who can you trust? Based on the acclaimed graphic novel and exploding with unforgettable action, Surrogates is nonstop entertainment - especially in Blu-ray High Definition.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, February 3rd, 2010 at 12:22 am and is filed under Commentary. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.