Surrogates 2009

Critics score:
39 / 100

Reviews provided by RottenTomatoes

Manohla Dargis, New York Times: Bruce Willis has little to do but hit his predictable marks and mouth the generic dialogue. Read more

Keith Phipps, AV Club: Surrogates creates a world it has little interest in exploring beyond the boundaries set by a fairly dull whodunit. Read more

Ty Burr, Boston Globe: Give credit to filmmaker Jonathan Mostow for keeping the movie on track; give credit to star Bruce Willis for keeping a straight face. Read more

J. R. Jones, Chicago Reader: The premise for this sci-fi actioner makes sense for about four seconds, after which you begin to wonder why everyone on the planet would willingly become a shut-in, how the poor are supposed to shell out for these high-tech androids, etc. Read more

Tom Long, Detroit News: The film moves along so quickly, and the surrogate world look is so eerie. Read more

Lisa Schwarzbaum, Entertainment Weekly: There's fun robot stuff, some good philosophical ideas, and a brief, nutty Willis-Ving Rhames reunion 15 years after Pulp Fiction. Read more

Eric D. Snider, Film.com: One of the year's more entertaining sci-fi films. Read more

Amy Nicholson, I.E. Weekly: Every sci-fi and action flick cliche is crammed in here and Mostow couldn't give a damn if you've seen them all before. He might not do them better, but he'll do them well enough. Read more

Robert Abele, Los Angeles Times: While the notion holds promise, the execution is strictly campy and adrenaline-driven. Read more

Stephen Whitty, Newark Star-Ledger: The script is by the team that gave us Catwoman and the last two Terminator movies, which tells you all you need to know. Read more

Elizabeth Weitzman, New York Daily News: If robots had to make a movie without human help, Surrogates is what they might come up with. All the parts are visible, but there's no soul to be found. Read more

Kyle Smith, New York Post: Surrogates nudges the robo-thriller in an interesting direction. Read more

Roger Moore, Orlando Sentinel: For all the inspirations, the pieces of better stories that this tale was concocted from, Surrogates never manages to be anything more than a poor substitute for the real thing. Read more

David Hiltbrand, Philadelphia Inquirer: If the whole point of this surrogate society is to appear as a perfectly beautiful avatar, why would Bruce Willis choose that ludicrous blond wig that looks like he plucked it off a mannequin at Boscov's? Read more

James Berardinelli, ReelViews: Whatever the reason, Surrogates was shielded from the eyes of critics before its opening, and that's a shame. Because, whatever its flaws, it is a good movie. Read more

Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: Surrogates is entertaining and ingenious, but it settles too soon for formula. Read more

Stephanie Zacharek, Salon.com: Surrogates stays afloat by not taking itself too seriously, but also by recognizing that a movie about robots shouldn't look as if it were made by one. Read more

Liam Lacey, Globe and Mail: Do the actors sound so robotic because they are playing robots well or humans badly? And did a machine write this dialogue? If so, could we please apply for an upgrade? Read more

Peter Howell, Toronto Star: Surrogates bleakly satirizes our increasingly plugged-in world. Read more

Keith Uhlich, Time Out: Read more

Trevor Johnston, Time Out: The ideas probably have a bit more juice than the movie, but it's still an alert piece of entertainment. Read more

Claudia Puig, USA Today: Despite bumpy execution likely to have detractors yelling "deja boo," Surrogates oozes possibilities. Read more

Todd McCarthy, Variety: A film about robots that might find its biggest fans among Luddites, Surrogates is an intense and eerily plausible sci-fi thriller. Read more