ANY Human Organ Can Be Replaced; Just Make Sure You Can Afford It...Or You LOSE it!

Title seem familiar? That’s because director Miguel Sapochnik’s “REPO MEN” is based on the novel "Repossession Mambo". It is unrelated yet may be seen as a movie closely related to the 2008 musical entitled “Repo Men: The Genetic Opera” which covers the premise of 'repossessing artificial' organs but instead delivers the idea with great vocals and musical talent that was also based on that novel. Truth be told, I am not exactly fond of musicals which is why I missed the 2008 film; so of course I would be real interested in watching this more conventional film about a gonzo, organ-reclaiming delight that I assume (remember I freely admit I am a tad biased with musicals, so "Genetic Opera" was just not for me) the film attempts to focus more on being something a little more intellectual and even darkly satiric than its musical counterpart. 

           

                                
 

When you miss payments for your car, the car gets reclaimed by the bank. If you miss payments for your mortgage, your house goes into foreclosure. In this futuristic world, organ failure has a cure and you don’t have to wait for a donor. The corporation called the “Union” makes artificial organs and they are very expensive. Miss payments for more than 90 days and “Repo Men” such as Remy (Jude Law) and Jake (Forest Whittaker) may come knocking at your door; to take back what the ‘union’ has lent to you. Things are good for the two since they have known each other for awhile; first as kids, joined the army and now they are two of the top organ retrievers in the business. However, while on a job, Remy gets into an accident that causes him to require a new heart. Because of this sudden change, Remy loses his edge, and he cannot perform his work in the repossession business. Thus, Remy is unable to pay his bills and puts himself in the other side of the equation. Running across a singer named Beth (Alice Braga), he has long harbored feelings for and he teams up with her to try and escape the army of ‘repo men’ hot on the trail of bad credit…one of them is his own best friend Jake.

             

                           

               
 

As I’ve mentioned, I never saw the original musical so I cannot really see the differences in the script. One thing is for sure, Sapochnik’s version forgets about the musical atmosphere and instead takes on a more sinister tone as the film goes to expose this world of corporate future. The set designs have a little similarity to “Blade Runner” but not entirely too much. This world of the future is filled with advertisements and bad health can be fixed for a very high price. This world is definitely controlled by the corporations, as the screenplay captures the inside and outs of the organ market. This is a place where capitalism is rampant and the hell with morals.
 

One might say that the film is a cautionary tale about someone who lets his job become his central focus as the film often states: “It’s just another job” but in the end we are defined by our jobs and we become what they are. I guess the film takes the intellectual thought-provoking side of the themes of greed and corporate capitalism. I liked the manner with which the screenplay exposes this side of the equation as we see Jake and Remy go on the hunt, trying to hunt down unpaid organ accounts. It is only another job indeed…but what happens when that job causes other their lives? One can lose their soul and even their family in the name of rules established by our society.

           

                                   
 

The film has several scenes of action that is dispersed throughout the film. “Repo Men” is gonzo and it is just a delight to see the two go after their targets. The direction also remembers to inject some black humor that were cleverly placed throughout the film. There are however some weaknesses to its script, that I felt that once Remy becomes stuck on his debt, the film loses some of its footing and the pace becomes a little slow. I guess it was necessary to have the viewer settle down a little so that they could get more acquainted with this future. The direction lost some of its energetic momentum as the film experiences a slight shift in tone that I felt that some scenes have been edited from this theatrical release that developed Remy’s and Jake’s respective characters. I didn’t exactly mind this change as the viewer is taken into the underground of this world. While we the see the nifty skyscrapers, the slums are well still slums. Some parts of this world may be a little more advance but the poverty-stricken areas have become ‘nests’ for those who couldn’t pay their bills. Also, you would be correct to guess that anything expensive with high demand would have a black market. The scene that brings this into exposition is a clever one for sure, that I found it real amusing albeit it was a typical stereotype.
 

Despite its sudden change in pace and tone, that made it lose some of its momentum, the script manages to salvage itself when Remy goes directly against the system for his last stand. I never thought I’d see a guy in a “lung” costume beat up a corporate stooge on film (I loved this scene). We also see a scene that is almost reminiscent of the hallway fight in the Korean film “Oldboy” as Remy and Beth attempt to fight their way in the corporation. Once at the goal, we see Remy and Beth display some weird display of sexual intimacy while they “check” each other into inventory; this is sexual innuendo taken to the extreme. Damn, I could almost imagine that David Cronenberg had a hand in those scenes. However, once all the chaos settles and everything is revealed, I found that I felt like I was cheated on its climax. Sure, it left a bad taste in my mouth, but it did make sense in this future.
 

“Repo Men” is ultimately a success. I was just slightly disappointed that the movie wasn’t as chaotic, deranged and bloody as it should have been. Still, the film is just GONZO Fun!
 

Recommended! [4- Stars]

HYPE LEVEL: Moderate. The Expectations established by the musical is pretty high among cult fans. But the film does go over expectations.