Based on the 2009 novel titled The Repossession Mambo by Eric Garcia, Repo Men is a futuristic Action Sci-Fi Thriller starring Jude Law, Forest Whitaker and Liev Schreiber. Set in the not too distant future of the year 2025, this high octane thrill ride proves to be an entertaining experience. However, by the time the credits begin to roll, most audience members will feel as though their time was thoroughly wasted by an ending that falls short of adequate.
Repo Men tells the story of a husband, father and working man named Remy (Jude Law), whose job is simple. Remy must identify and forcefully remove the artificial organs of those who possess them, but have failed to make the necessary payments to Remy’s employer, an organ supplying corporation called “The Union”. Working with Remy is his old childhood friend Jake (Forest Whitaker), a somewhat carefree man who enjoys his job more then most would. Working under his boss Frank (Liev Schreiber), all seems to be going well with Remy and his job. However, with family issues surfacing due to the grim nature of his job, and a sudden turn of events that takes place on a seemingly normal call, Remy must fight for his life, as well as the life of another.
Repo Men (like most action movies) has its fair share of violence and bloodshed. Though some would claim that the gruesome scenes tend to go a tad bit overboard, the reality is that with the overall grotesque nature of Remy’s job, these gruesome scenes were necessary in order to give the audience a sense of realness to his job. There is a specific point early in the film when Remy cuts open and forcefully shoves his hand inside a man, removing an organ (which is shown in it’s entirety within his hand). Actually showing the organ gave the audience the exact visual of how Remy removes the organ, thoroughly cleans it, and brings it back to his employer, as opposed to cutting to another angle and giving the viewers a vague outlook on how the process is done. Though both scenarios may get the job done, the former shows the harsh reality of Remy’s duties.
The storyline of Repo Men is interesting. Though many criticize the story for it’s high resemblance to that of Repo! The Genetic Opera, the differences were large enough to justify the existence of this movie. The overall outline of the story seems to be more realistic to that of its counterpart. The realism of Repo Men sparks thought of the real future. How technology of the 21st century continues to grow, and how human nature could compel those with corrupt personalities to try and take advantage of this amazing technology. Overall, the message that is presumably trying to be told is a fascinating one, and is one that makes the movie that much more fun to watch.
When it is all said and done, Repo Men is an exiting and gore filled movie with an interesting setting and story. However, all the great things that this movie had going for it are nearly decimated by the ending. An unnecessary plot twist completely turns the movie upside down, and will leave viewers asking “why?” . Although the ending alone is not enough to justify a low score, the movie as a whole deserves no more then an average rating of 3. This movie is only recommended to those who enjoy late plot twists, and less then happy endings.