Quartile rating: 6/10 · 1 rating
Set in a futuristic world where humans live in isolation and interact through surrogate robots, a cop is forced to leave his home for the first time in years in order to investigate the murders of others' surrogates.
Surrogates presents an intriguing sci-fi premise borrowed from its comic source material but squanders it with a formulaic thriller plot that never fully explores its philosophical potential. Willis delivers a competent if unremarkable performance, and the supporting cast is serviceable. The cinematography is polished but generic Hollywood fare with no distinctive visual identity beyond the slightly uncanny surrogate designs. The concept of surrogate robots raises interesting questions about identity and human connection, but the execution is derivative of other PKD-adjacent sci-fi thrillers. The ending resolves the central conflict in an abrupt, somewhat implausible way that undermines the complexity the premise deserved.