Surrogates By David Vaughn   •   February, 2010 In the near future, humans live their lives through perfect robotic surrogates controlled from the safety of their homes, and murder becomes a thing of the past. But when the son of the surrogates' creator is killed, an FBI agent (Bruce Willis) must reenter the real world to unravel the mysterious death.

To witness the effect of technology on our society, all you have to do is sit in a restaurant and watch families spend more time texting on their smartphones instead of talking to each other. Surrogates takes this to the extreme as humans completely withdraw from society, but it's certainly thought-provoking. Nevertheless, the pulsating DTS-HD MA 5.1 soundtrack is loaded with demo scenes featuring pinpoint discrete effects, multidimensional imaging, and some foundation-shaking bass.

That’s gonna' leave a mark

• Chapter 2, 00:06:41
• Frequency response, discrete effects, imaging
• Leaving the scene of the crime, the murderer causes a traffic accident, and an SUV rolls into a crowd of surrogates. Listen to the squeal of the tires and the shattering glass, and feel the impact as the SUV collides with the brick wall.

Virtual war zone

• Chapter 6, 00:24:54
• Frequency response, surround envelopment
• Investigating the source of a mysterious weapon leads the FBI to a military headquarters. Experience an impressive audio demonstration as bullets fly through the soundstage, explosions rattle the windows, and helicopters and fighter jets fly overhead.

Humans only

• Chapter 13, 01:00:52
• Surround envelopment
• As the military enters a human enclave, listen to the sound of two twin-rotor helicopters as they descend to the ground.

Release Date: January 26, 2010
Studio: Disney/Touchstone

Movie: 6/10
Picture: 8/10
Sound: 9/10