Surrogates (2009)

[lsanderson]

"Surrogates," directed by Jonathan Mostow.
Avatars and Their Meat-Puppeteers
By MANOHLA DARGIS
Published: September 25, 2009

The nifty premise of “Surrogates” builds on a science-fiction conceit familiar from the likes of the 1973 movie “Westworld” and the online game “Second Life.” In a reality that looks a lot like today’s (a Prius is the most far-out car), human beings hide away at home, where, hooked up with electrodes, they live, work and play through robotic surrogates. Idealized types — which, because this is a Hollywood movie, means a lot of balloon breasts and itty-bitty noses — these avatars or “surries” allow their meat-puppeteers not just to act but also to feel by remote, a state of alienated affairs that has lowered the crime rate while also forcing lumpy, spotty, all-too-human naysayers onto machine-free reservations. More