Review: Repo Men

I have mixed feelings on Repo Men, a movie I’ve been anticipating for months. On one hand, it delivers on being a bloody, violent, sci-fi thriller – exactly what I was expecting. On the other hand, it’s quite predictable, tiresome to watch, and could have used a better script or at least more blood, guts, and senseless violence to be something truly daring.

Based on Eric Garcia’s novel The Repossession Mambo, the film is set in a futuristic city (which is actually Toronto in poor disguise) where people in need of a new kidney, liver, or other vital organ can lease mechanical ones (also known as artiforgs) as easily as they can lease a car. Similar to a bank, The Union – the company who leases the body parts – sends out repo men to return their property if someone defaults on their payments. Remy (Jude Law) and Jake (Forest Whitaker) are two of the best repo men working for The Union. Using special equipment to hunt, scan, and cut open delinquent clients, they’re considered masters in their field. After an accident leaves Remy with an artificial heart, he suddenly has difficulties to go after people because he feels a connection with them. Of course if he doesn’t deliver the goods, he doesn’t earn money to pay for his new part. Soon he’s the prey on the run from his co-workers.

The cast, which also includes Liev Schreiber as Remy and Jake’s boss Frank, and Alice Braga as Remy’s partner-on-the run Beth, all do a fine job with what they have to work with. Law especially has never looked so cool onscreen even if he does comes across as bored in a few scenes. I did find Whitaker to be a tad annoying and, to be honest, I could barely understand a word he was saying for most of the movie (he makes up for it in the crazy, bad-ass department). Better dialogue and tighter direction with this cast could have given us a much better film-going experience.

Repo Men is more like the cult musical Repo! The Genetic Opera than the similar-sounding 1984 Emilio Estevez film Repo Man. Most of it is set under dreary skies and in abandoned buildings, and you know it’s the future because there is a floating train that goes by whenever they show a wide shot of the city. It’s very typical of this type of movie. My biggest issue is that when people aren’t being brutally killed, it’s just a flat, uninspired genre film.

On a side note, Torontonians will have a much better time watching Repo Men since you’ll be distracted by picking out all the areas of our fine city the film was shot in. Yonge-Dundas Square gets a nice makeover (with a digital floating train, of couse), a TTC streetcar is given a futuristic look, and The Union office Remy and Jake work in is in the Eaton Centre. Unfortunately all of this won’t matter to anyone outside of Toronto and will make the movie even less interesting to them.

** out of 5 stars

Rated R
Cast: Jude Law, Forest Whitaker
Directed by: Miguel Sapochnik
Official Site IMDb

brian.mckechnie@citynews.rogers.com

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Top image: A scene from Repo Men. Courtesy Universal Pictures.