Surrogates

In the near future, widespread use of remotely controlled androids called "surrogates" enables everyone to live in idealized forms from the safety of their homes. Compared to their surrogates, the human operators are depicted as slovenly and homebound. Protected from harm, a surrogate's operator feels no pain when their surrogate is damaged, and they can make their surrogate perform acrobatics beyond human capability. In Boston, FBI agent Tom Greer has been estranged from his wife Maggie since their son's death in a car crash several years before. He never sees her outside of her surrogate and she criticizes his desire to interact via their real bodies.

Tom and his partner, Agent Jennifer Peters, investigate the death of two people who were killed when their surrogates were destroyed at a Fort Point club. Jared Canter, one of the victims, is the son of Dr. Lionel Canter, the inventor of surrogates and the former head of their manufacturing company, Virtual Self Industries (VSI). The two determine that a human, Miles Strickland, used a new type of weapon to overload the surrogates' systems and kill their operators. After locating Strickland, Tom attempts to bring him into custody. Strickland uses the weapon and injures Tom during the chase; Tom inadvertently crash-lands into an anti-surrogate zone known as the Dread Reservation (one of many throughout the US). A mob helps Strickland and destroys Tom's surrogate. The Dread leader, a man known as the Prophet, kills Strickland and confiscates the weapon.

With his surrogate destroyed, Tom is forced to interact in the world without one. He learns that VSI originally produced the weapon, designed to load a virus that overloads a surrogate's systems, thus disabling it, under a government contract. Unexpectedly, the weapon also disabled the fail-safe protocols protecting operators. The project was promptly scrapped and all prototypes supposedly destroyed. Tom also learns that Andrew Stone, his FBI superior, supplied the weapon to Strickland and ordered Dr. Canter's assassination, upon VSI's request, for his criticism of surrogate use. Jared, who had, unbeknownst to the assassin, been using one of his father's many surrogates, was killed instead. An unknown man murders Jennifer in her home and then hijacks her surrogate, and the Prophet orders the weapon delivered to her. During a military raid on the reservation, the Prophet is shot, revealing he was actually a surrogate, with audience learning that Canter himself was its operator. Tom steals the code that activates the weapon from Stone, but "Jennifer" escapes with the codes.

Immediately travelling to Canter's home, Tom discovers that Canter has been controlling not only the Prophet, but also Jennifer and the surrogate he used to kill Jennifer as well. Using Jennifer's surrogate in FBI Headquarters, Canter uses the weapon to kill Stone and proceeds to upload the virus to all surrogates, which will destroy them and kill their operators. Canter reveals that he only wanted to empower the disabled to live normal lives, but after he was fired from VSI, they capitalized on surrogacy for profit. Convinced his plan is unstoppable, Canter disconnects from Jennifer's surrogate and swallows a cyanide pill. Tom takes control of Jennifer's surrogate and, with the assistance of the network's system administrator, Bobby Saunders, insulates the virus so the operators will survive, but a second step is required to save the surrogates. After a moment of consideration, Tom chooses to let the virus permanently disable surrogates worldwide. With all the surrogates disabled, people emerge from their homes, confused and afraid.

Returning home, Tom shares an emotional embrace with Maggie in her real form. The film ends with an aerial view of the collapsed surrogates along with overlapping news reports of downed surrogates all over the world and how people are now "on their own" again.

• Bruce Willis as Tom Greer, an FBI agent investigating the mysterious murder of a college student linked to the high-tech surrogate phenomenon.
• Radha Mitchell as Jennifer Peters, Greer's FBI partner.
• Rosamund Pike as Maggie Greer, Greer's wife.[5]
• Jack Noseworthy as Miles Strickland, a man hired to kill Lionel Canter.[6]
• James Cromwell as Older Canter, the reclusive inventor of the surrogates.
• Ving Rhames as The Prophet, a human cult figure who disdains surrogates who is actually secretly a surrogate of Dr. Canter.[5]
• Boris Kodjoe as Andrew Stone, Peters' and Greer's supervisor at the FBI.[6]
• James Francis Ginty as Canter, a surrogate that belonged to Lionel Canter's son.
• Michael Cudlitz as Colonel Brendon, an Army colonel in charge of using surrogates in warfare.
• Devin Ratray as Bobby Saunders, the administrator of the FBI computer system that controls the surrogate network.
• Helena Mattsson as JJ the Blonde, a blonde female surrogate for Cameron McAllister.
• Shane Dzicek as Jarod Canter, Dr. Lionel Canter's son who is murdered by a human assassin.
• Cody Christian as Boy Canter, an alternate surrogate that belongs to Lionel Canter.
• Trevor Donovan as Surrie/Greer, a temporary replacement surrogate that Peters convinces Greer to try out.

In March 2007, Disney acquired feature film rights to the 2005–2006 comic book series The Surrogates with the intent to distribute under Touchstone Pictures. The project was conceived by Max Handelman and Elizabeth Banks through Brownstone Productions, and they enlisted producer Todd Lieberman to move it forward. Under Disney, Jonathan Mostow was attached to direct the film based on an adapted screenplay by Michael Ferris and John Brancato.[7] The following November, Bruce Willis was cast to star in the lead role. Filming was scheduled to begin in February 2008 in Lynn, Massachusetts.[8] It was delayed,[9] beginning on April 29, 2008 in Woburn.[6] Filming then took place in the Massachusetts cities of Lynn, Worcester,[10] Milford, Hopedale, Taunton,[11][12] Lawrence[13] and Wayland.[14][15] Visual effects were handled by Sandbox FX, Brickyard VFX,[16] Industrial Light and Magic and Moving Picture Company.

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[17]
Filmtracks	[18]
iTunes	[19]
Movie Music UK	[20]
Tracksounds	[21]

Surrogates: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack was orchestrated by composer Richard Marvin. Surrogates is the fifth film on which director Jonathan Mostow and composer Richard Marvin have collaborated. Marvin recorded his score with the 120-piece Hollywood Studio Symphony. Although it was not featured in the soundtrack, the song "I Will Not Bow," performed by Breaking Benjamin, was played during the film's ending credits and the song's music video features footage from the film. The soundtrack was released on November 23, 2009.[22]

Track listing

• Brain–computer interface
• First-person perspective
• Simulation
• Telepresence
• Virtual reality

Wikiquote has quotations related to Surrogates.

• Surrogates at IMDb 
• Surrogates at AllMovie
• Surrogates at Rotten Tomatoes
• Surrogates at Metacritic
• Surrogates at Box Office Mojo
• The Surrogates at the Comic Book DB (archived from the original)