Surrogates (2009/Touchstone-Disney Blu-ray + DVD)
Picture:
B-/C Sound: B/B- Extras:
C+/C Film: B-
Jonathan
Mostow is not a bad director and one who is slowly getting better. I was no fan of his hit U-571 (2000), but felt his Terminator
3: Rise Of The Machines (2003) was much better than people realized. The writers of the last two Terminator films (read three and the
disastrous four) Michael Ferris and John D. Brancato (also of Primeval) have
reunited with Mostow to make Surrogates
(2009), a very interesting Science Fiction thriller (based on the graphic novel
comic book by Robert Venditti and Brett Weldele) set in a future that does not
work as well as those in power claim.
As a next
step after virtual reality (think Brainstorm
or Strange Days), people can now
hook into not just video programs, but independently moving robots and live
their lives controlling them from home (like Internet extensions of themselves)
to work, have intimate sexual affairs, do daredevil stunts they can live to tell
about or whatever they want. A growing
movement against them is forming and in what seemed safe, some users are dying while
using them.
Enter Tom
Greer (Bruce Willis) investigating what is going wrong. The producing company is (no pun intended)
shocked at the allegations that their fail safe product is a killer. This leads to a twisted investigation that
makes this film more of a detective thriller than anything Noir, but could have
been darker, but the battle within the film is saying something about the smart
situation in the narrative while retaining commercial appeal. The result is a decent, watchable film with a
pat ending, but more than enough to enjoy in advance. Why this was not just darker and bolder is a
shame, but Willis is interesting in his role and is backed by a fine supporting
cast that includes Radha Mitchell, Rosamund Pike, James Cromwell, Ving Rhames,
Jack Noseworthy and Southland’s
Michael Cudlitz among others.
It is
more ambitious than most such films this year and deserves a larger audience
than it received in its theatrical release and these new editions will
hopefully change that.
The 1080p
2.35 X 1 digital High Definition image is a little soft throughout as there are
so many digital effects, including the plasticizing of many actors to look like
and seem like the title android/robots, but it is as good as it is going to
look just the same. The anamorphically
enhanced DVD suffers by comparison with poorer color, lesser Video Black and
other detail issues. Director of Photography
Oliver Wood (The Jason Bourne Trilogy, The
Honeymoon Killers, U-571) shot
this in Super 35mm film and does what he can under the circumstances to make it
work.
The
DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) 48/24 5.1 lossless mix is often good, but the
soundfield is not always consistent and dialogue recording can be a little off
at times, while the DVD’s Dolby Digital 5.1 mix is a little weaker, but Richard
Marvin turns in an interesting score. Extras
include a Music Video and feature-length audio commentary track with Mostow in
both versions, while the Blu-ray adds exclusive Deleted Scenes and two more
featurettes: A More Perfect You: The
Science Of Surrogates and Breaking
The Frame: A Graphic Novel Comes To Life.
-
Nicholas Sheffo
