Beyond providing an excuse to sometimes wear a creepy wig which Barbie’s boyfriend must want back, why Willis picked the shiny, empty Surrogates as his sci-fi return isn’t clear from the tepid results on screen.
Comment
09/24/09
Surrogates (2009)
39
%
Tomatometer
How does the Tomatometer work 
Reviews Counted:99
Fresh:39
Rotten:60
Average Rating:5.4/10
Consensus: Though it sports a slick look and feel, Surrogates fails to capitalize on a promising premise, relying instead on mindless action and a poor script.
Genre: Science-Fiction/Fantasy
US Box Office: $38,368,790
Synopsis: FBI agents (BRUCE WILLIS and RADHA MITCHELL) investigate the mysterious murder of a college student linked to the man who helped create a high-tech surrogate phenomenon that allows people to... [More]
Starring: Bruce Willis, Radha Mitchell, Rosamund Pike, Boris Kodjoe
Director: Jonathan Mostow
Reviews for Surrogates
Top CriticHigh concept and high budget, Surrogates adds astounding techno magic to ideas mooted in films like Multiplicity, Total Recall and I Robot, but fails to achieve the humanity the film champions
09/23/09
Top CriticSeems less like a 21st Century would-be blockbuster than a lost 80's relic only just rediscovered. Either way, we're lucky to have it.
11/24/09
The end result is somewhat underwhelming. It's more of a novella than a novel, and hardly the science fiction action blockbuster audiences were expecting.
11/17/09
...viewers with even a passing interest in science fiction will find something worth embracing here.
11/02/09
Good ideas rub up against bad ideas, and the result is a movie that is worth a look but could have been much more.
10/31/09
This predictable flick executed in a numbingly pedestrian fashion, has slapped a nifty conceit onto its threadbare mystery-thriller plot, but has somehow managed to miss every opportunity to take advantage of it
10/20/09
Has all the get-up-and-go of a dead battery.
10/14/09
Its humanity, some cool technology and Bruce Willis save this film from simply being a compilation of a zillion similarly themed "too much technology" lessons.
10/11/09
SF chillers of the past that warned about dehumanization -- 'Invaders from Mars,' for example -- posited an outside threat; now, in a 21st-century world of plastic surgery and online avatars, the danger comes from within: the dehumanization is voluntary.
10/06/09
Semi-plausible and semi-watchable futuristic (but still looking like today's world) dystopian 'save the world' sci-fi thriller.
10/04/09
The problem with the movie is that while the action is swift, the set design is polished and the running time is enjoyably lean, the film leaves behind too many unanswered questions in its quest to drive the action forward.
10/03/09
This movie does what science fiction is supposed to do, but seldom does anymore, it makes a comment about today's society by taking current trends and carrying them to a profound technological conclusion.
10/02/09
The provocative Philip K. Dick-like premise deserves better than this warmed-over apocalyptic murder mystery.
09/30/09
Surrogates is an A-list blockbuster that would fit, damn proudly, on the lower half of a double bill.
09/30/09
A failure of speculative fiction, of plot, and of good old fashioned action filmmaking.
09/28/09
The picture trades in hoary Bruce Willis police procedural clichés and underdeveloped conceits.
09/28/09
This play between the plastic and the organic asks if perfect safety is worth sitting in the womb of virtual reality for the rest of your life.
09/28/09
Every sci-fi and action flick cliché 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.
09/28/09
An efficient, engaging B-movie parable that grapples with technology, civil liberties, terrorism, freewill and religious subtext all in 89 minutes. It's also a true rarity: A good movie in which usually bald Bruce Willis sports a full head of hair.
09/28/09
Latest News for Surrogates
October 03, 2009:
New: Brand New Trailer and Poster. 
More...
September 28, 2009:
Watch RT This Week on Current TV
This week, The Rotten Tomatoes Show will be looking at the movies that opened over the weekend, with help from you (the Rotten Tomatoes community), the Current TV community, and... More...
September 24, 2009:
Critics Consensus: Surrogates Is A Passable Thriller
This week at the movies, we've got robot clones (Surrogates, starring Bruce Willis and Radha Mitchell), artistic-minded freshmen (Fame, starring Kelsey Grammer and Megan... More...
September 24, 2009:
Will Surrogates Struggle to Number One?
It's projected to take the box office crown this weekend, but Jonathan Mostow's "Surrogates" has been dogged by studio turmoil and rumors of behind-the-scenes friction. More...
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