Surrogates

[knowledge_of_self]

I saw this trailer on TV the other night and the movie looks good. I love sci-fi flicks so this movie is right up my alley. It comes out Sept 25th, I'll try and check it out in theaters but if that doesn't happen for sure on DVD. :P The idea is really interesting...

here is the trailer...

and this is the plot summary from IMDB

People are living their lives remotely from the safety of their own homes via robotic surrogates -- sexy, physically perfect mechanical representations of themselves. It's an ideal world where crime, pain, fear and consequences don't exist. When the first murder in years jolts this utopia, FBI agent Greer (Willis) discovers a vast conspiracy behind the surrogate phenomenon and must abandon his own surrogate, risking his life to unravel the mystery.

 

[mada85]

This does look interesting. It's released on Sept 25 here in the UK.

This is one of two films being released this year that deal with downloading human consciousness into surrogate bodies. The other is James Cameron's Avatar: _http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0499549/

 

[knowledge_of_self]

This does look interesting. It's released on Sept 25 here in the UK.

This is one of two films being released this year that deal with downloading human consciousness into surrogate bodies. The other is James Cameron's Avatar: _http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0499549/

Oh yes I'm definitely looking forward to seeing James Camron's Avatar. It looks really good :)

Funny little fact about that movie name... I'm not sure if you or anyone is familiar with Avatar-The Last Air Bender the cartoon. But it's being made into a movie by M. Night Shamalan and they were having disputes up to very recently in court with James Camron about the name of their movie. So the cartoon-movie is now being named "The Last Air Bender" instead of The Avatar because of the copy right name from James Camron.

EDIT

I forgot to add an interesting thing that happened last night after I made this post. I was in thought about how this Surrogates movie kind of reminded me of
I, Robot and how it had been a long time since I had seen that movie. As I'm thinking of this, I went downstairs, turned on my TV and the Channel the TV was on- was showing I, Robot. It was kind of weird... so I thought I'd share :P

 

[Beau]

This movie is actually based on a comic book of the same name - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Surrogates. Very interesting storyline in the comic book. Here's one reviewer's take on the comic:

The Surrogates' deaths and the subsequent investigation is the device that moves the plot forward, but the real interest to be found in this five issue miniseries is in the questions raised. We are a nation obsessed with physical appearance, going through great lengths to ensure we remain forever young. Creams, diets, exercise apparatus and surgery are some of the devices we currently employ. It is not too hard to imagine then forking over big bucks to buy a body that is the physical appearance of your dreams. In this age of shrinking global boundaries, our own individual identity has become something we can manipulate at will. We can be whoever it is we want to be in the online community. We've become not a people connected to one another but a collection of false identities playing a variety of ever-changing roles, a massive Web of false relationships exiting in pseudo realities. When and why did we become so bored with our own world?

Writer Robert Venditti has thoughts like this on his mind. He uses The Surrogates to get us to question our notion of identity and to think about the downside of technological advancement. His work resembles that of William Gibson and Philip K. Dick, the pioneers of this brand of science fiction.

 

[Iconoclast]

i'm also interested in this, but according so some reviews i've read it's a bit uneven, suffering most probably from studio interference.
i'll wait if a director's cut comes out when the flick is released on dvd.

 

[MichaelM]

Just wanted to add an observation.

Saw one of the trailers where there was a scene with a bunch of people on the street that suddenly fall unconscious.
This reminded me of the currently running ABC series, "FlashForward" _http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FlashForward_%282009_TV_series%29
Two similar images do not create a pattern/meme but I thought it was worth noting the similarity. Maybe something else might come out (on t.v. or the silver screen) in the future?

I also remember an anti-smoking t.v. advert with a thousand or so people outside the corporate headquarters of some cigarette company and then all the people in the crowd collapsed except 1 person holding up a signboard saying something to the effect that "smoking kills this many people a day".
But that advert was run years ago so may not be related to these two similar "falling unconscious" scenes in Surrogates and FlashForward.

 

[Rich]

I watched and found it really quite dull and soulless, very difficult to derive empathy for any of the characters and really just an action film based on an interesting concept. It does look like they had the 'surrogate' concept then fitted a story around it.

One issue that bugged me was the fact that this would be set quite some time in the future yet they are still transferring data on USB sticks.

Also, there are just soo many films that try to build up some excitement by showing a 'downloading file' graphic. Will they get the sensitive data in time?...

I found it quite confusing in places but in the end it boils down to something similar to a scooby doo episode with a >plot spoiler<





... windows error message to save humanity?

 

[andi]

I agree with Pob, i was expecting the movie to have a soul , yet no . Really dull, sorry.

 

[knowledge_of_self]

I agree with Pob, i was expecting the movie to have a soul , yet no . Really dull, sorry.

This is sad to hear, I'll still give it a shot if there is nothing better to watch when it comes out on DVD.. maybe.. lol :P

 

[Mayb]

I agree , empty action with well known racing scenes and disturbing " kiling" or destroying the surrogate bodies.

 

[ZeropointNinja]

I liked the movie, 4 out of 5 IMO.

Transhumanists fantasy to some extent, except I would have liked it better if you would have downloaded into the surrogate instead of remote operation.

kurzwiel smiles at this one I bet.

 

[Franco]

I liked the movie, for me it mirrors how many of us interact with computers.

I thought of the surrogates as your sort of on line personality and how people use that to buffer themselves from real life, a good example is the fat bald guy who choose a pretty female avatar which is a common internet joke.

I think this movie was like a lot of other movies showing how technology can take over your life and for some shield you completely from it.

I didn't view this movie from a fun/action point of view, more philosophical as i recognise a lot of symbolism, similar to The Matrix, Terminator and even cartoons like Wally.

Do we use technology or is technology starting to be used more and more against us which we willingly accept as long as it makes our lives easier.

Physically I don't think humans could ever use surrogates as we would get seriously body issues pretty quickly sitting still all day like that, therefore it is unrealistic, though to anyone who sits at a computer all day, this movie may hit a few nerves.

 

[Tigersoap]

I thought the basic idea of the movie was a good one but the plot or the content of the movie failed to be very much interesting after all.
Just a very very slow and boring ride to the finale without much surprise.
The movie itself is pretty shallow.
Did it made me think especially or have much empathy for all the characters ?
Not really.

I thought that the end with people going out in their pyjamas in the street was kinda ridiculous.

My two cents.

 

[aluminumfalcon]

I've been re-reading chapter 28 during lunchtime at work and also reading chapter 66 at home. While thinking about the compounding effect each reading was having upon me, an analogy occurred to me in the form of this movie.

Primarily, the point of my thought was about having the constant recognition of one's true self (the operator), while functioning in this third dimension (like a surrogate). Kinda like those androids in the movie, but having a quasi-conscience of their own to think that there was no operator and just living their lives as though they were their own.

The thought occurred to me that this would be a positive way for me to stay focused on the work. If I remind myself that I am like the surrogate, and the real me is somewhere else, then I can keep a greater focus on what's important. Sorta like a reminder not to get caught up in the world. Like an independent surrogate acknowledging that (it) is not the one truly in control.

And, at times, I think that I actually release control and let the operator drive.

FWIW, just some thought that reminded me of this movie while reading and working...