by Roger Bourke White Jr., copyright September 2009
Surrogates is a baby step towards a new idea. It's a watchable SF thriller, but the plot follows a conventional mystery formula rather than exploring how this new technology could change our lives.
Surrogates is basically a mystery with a technology gee whiz as the Mc Guffin. The gee whiz is lifelike robots -- called surrogates -- that can fill in for people in their day-to-day activities, and they are cheap enough that most of the population is using them regularly. The problem is that if technology has advanced to the point we can have lifelike robots filling in, why are we still doing the same kinds of day-to-day activities? That's what's depicted in the movie, and nothing more than that. The robots are used only as cosmetic replacements for people.
So, here are the technofiction problems I saw:
o These robots are real robots, as in physical beings. Why isn't this happening in VR rather than a real physical world? If all you want is a better looking, lower risk lifestyle, VR is a whole lot cheaper and easier on the environment.
o The robots are designed only to look like much better looking people. Why aren't there other variations on the change-my-looks theme, such as comic book characters, vampires and zombies?
o The robots aren't being used for hazardous occupations, manufacturing or anything else, only for looking like better people. Why not? (That they are not being used for these other things is shown at the end of the movie when all the robots are stopped. The robots are stopped and civilization doesn't end, it's not even badly shaken up.)
o The robots have modest super powers as we find out in the final chase scene, but these are not used routinely. Why not?
o The robots are often housed in the user's home, in the bed room with the user. Why there? Why not in a maintenance facility?
o The users are not shown getting excersize on their own. If not, how are their bodies staying healthy? Likewise, one of the users is shown with a desktop full of medicines. How did she get diagnosed? And, if the diagnosis was done via computer monintoring her body, why are pills the way she is getting her medicine?
So all-in-all, an interesting concept, but hardly thought through. The writers chose to address only one small aspect of the technology, and did not try to show any surprises that would come with implementing it.
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