Repo Men (2010)

Remember that horror/musical "Repo: The genetic opera"? No? Well apparently the makers of this movie did. Cause its a major rip off of the afore mentioned movie, except without the amusement or the singing. A "repo man" who's job it is to reposses the replacement organs of patients who fall behind on their payments begins to question his job.

In the not too distant future medical technology has improved to the point where failing organs can be replaced by artificial ones… at a price. Of course there are finance plans for people who can't afford to buy them outright but if you drop behind on your payments your organs will be repossessed. This is where the repo men come in. Remy is one such repo man; he is good at his job but his wife is pressuring him to switch to the sales department. He says he will consider it but soon afterwards has an accident at work; when he wakes up he learns that he has had to have a new heart installed. Now he sympathises with those who can't pay and can no longer bring himself to do his job. His time to repay for his heart is rapidly running out so he goes on the run along with Beth, a singer. He is pursued by other repo men including his erstwhile partner, Jake.This is a solid film with plenty of action, some of which is fairly gruelling… but not half as gruelling as seeing the repossession work where the artificial organs are cut out. The story is told at a good pace without being rushed… it is quite a while before Remy goes on the run as time is spent introducing the viewer to the situation rather than just telling us. The basic plot reminded me of the '70s Sci-fi classic 'Logan's Run'; however it could have been a coincidence as there were a fair few major differences. The cast does a solid job with Jude Law, Forrest Whitaker and Alice Braga impressing as Remy, Jake and Beth. The rest of the cast are pretty good too. As the film approaches its conclusion the action is ramped up and we get a fight in a corridor that is almost on a par with that in 'Old Boy'. Over all I'd recommend this to anybody looking for an action film and isn't put off by some fairly gruesome moments.

Like Gattica with it's DNA plot, audiences aren't yet ready to find the subject of body organ replacements a topical issue. That's not to say they won't one day. This movie is just about saved by good acting performances from Jude Law, Forest Whitaker and Liev Schreiber. With a different plot it could have been turned into a great buddy movie between law and Whitaker. By setting the organ repossession story in the future with mechanical organs, it kind of lost it's bite for me. It might have been more controversial if it had been based upon the repossession of donated body organs. For most of us this is just a science fiction story, but for many people in the world with faulty organs it really is a matter of life and death today. But it did make me think how fortunate I am to have working body organs, or at least for the moment I do.

The biggest problem for me is that very few people would agree to this, because very few people could afford it... You can't make the payments? You're dead. You don't get a new organ? You're dead. Either way, you're dead! Now how would you rather die? Naturally, or hunted down and carved open? I think most people would choose the former. The people who could afford it would never need to see the repo men... but the people who are too poor would never take such a risk, to begin with!This could have been a really good movie if they had just made the price tantalisingly out of range, tempting people to make the gamble... Instead, they had to ruin a decent idea by over- exaggerating EVERYTHING to the point where it's too laughable to make a decent dilemma.It's entertaining in a ridiculous way - but thought provoking sci- fi, this is not!