In Jonathan Mostow‘s Surrogates, the majority of the world’s population conduct their public life through glossy avatars, known as surrogates. Since people rarely leave the comfort of their homes, crime, especially murder, is a rarity. So when a double surrogate-homicide occurs outside of a nightclub, FBI agents Greer (Bruce Willis) and Peters (Radha Mitchell) are assigned to the case. The unique weapon used by the killer sends a charge through the surrogate’s motherboard, and actually fries the brain of the user at home. The case becomes even more dense when it’s discovered that one of the victims was the son of Lionel Carter (James Cromwell), the creator of surrogate technology. Carter intended for the technology to aid the disabled and ill, and he was forced out of the company when he opposed its rampant overuse.

People vehemently opposed to the use of surrogates, known as “dreads,” are lead by The Prophet (Ving Rhames) and live in designated Surrogate-Free Zones. While tracking down the killer, Greer’s surrogate is destroyed and the FBI insists that he take some time off to recuperate. But in true hard-boiled form, Greer eventually goes out on his own; stepping out of the house into a landscape (Boston) inhabited by Barbies and Kens.

2009 seems to be the year for exploring the moral aspects of avatar technology on the big screen, with Gamer, Surrogates, and the upcoming Avatar all respectively addressing these themes. Stylistically, Gamer and Surrogates are worlds apart – Surrogates being infinitely more somber in tone. And while Gamer is more entertaining and successfully satirical, Surrogates takes greater leaps in addressing how humanity will be affected by technology. This, in my opinion, makes Surrogates more successful as science fiction. I’m biased though, because I fucking love the “softer” sci-fi that only briefly explains the ins-and-outs of the technology and essentially focuses on how working stiffs are affected. Surrogates is a complete success in this department. The relationship between Greer and his wife Maggie (Rosamund Pike) and how their marriage is affected/helped/doomed by surrogate technology is fleshed out really well.

I’m not going to waste a lot of time talking about Bruce’s acting. Honestly, he’s one of the most reliable actors working today and is always on-point when it comes to playing grizzled badasses. There’s one scene in particular where he goes from pure badass to vulnerable, emotionally broken-down husband in about a minute. I’m a huge fan of Humphrey Bogart, and I’ll be damned if Bruce didn’t channel that hard-boiled/vulnerability that Bogie mastered so well. James Cromwell also delivers here…at’ll do, pig.

The film is being advertised as an action movie, which is sad because there’s so much more going on here, and honestly there are about two really brief action sequences for the whole hour and a half. The twists are pretty predictable, but other than that, this film is pretty pitch perfect and has a great ’60s sci-fi, short story feel. A cautionary tale. If I’m not mistaken, the movie takes place during an undisclosed year, but can be read as 14 years in the future. And generously, the technology presented isn’t ridiculous or unbelievable. Think back 14 years when no one carried a cell phone and you had to masturbate to magazines or lingerie catalogs. The world moves fast. So get out of the house, you fucking nerds.

- Oh Mars