Surrogates (2009)

Directed by Jonathan Mostow. Starring Bruce Willis, Radha Mitchell, Rosamund Pike, Devin Ratray, Boris Kodjoe, Ving Rhames, Jack Noseworthy, James Cromwell, James Francis Ginty. [PG-13]

A sci-fi action-thriller with a premise that’s both intriguing and preposterous: in the not-too-distant future, nearly the entire population stays in their homes at all times while operating remotely-controlled android avatars known as “surrogates” for work and play in the outside world. Getting past that logical/logistic hurdle isn’t as frustrating as where it goes from there, which is into a rather mundane-if-muddled murder conspiracy being investigated by FBI agent Willis and partner Mitchell. Too terse and competently made to ever become an endurance test, although certain plot/design details and the presence of Cromwell as a robot-inventor with questionable motives echoes I, Robot too loudly, so it’s déjà vu on the generic, obvious side. You’re simply not going to get innovative or involving entertainment out of a tech-driven futuristic potboiler that unironically sticks Breaking Benjamin on the soundtrack. Based on a limited comic book series from writer Robert Venditti and artist Brett Weldele, published by Top Shelf Productions.

47/100