Repo Men Review

With the current state of the American economy, it is only natural that Hollywood would release waves of movies satirizing debt and “biting off more than one can chew.”

Repo Men is set in the near future, when large companies sell artificial organs called antiforges that people can purchase to replace any of their organs that may be damaged or debilitated. The organs are sold at outrageous prices, and if the buyer cannot afford the monthly payments, the company sends a man to find the buyer and “repossess” the organ in question. Remy, a repo man, struggles to balance his job with his family, and decides to leave repo and start selling the organs. During one final repo job, however, he experiences an accident that gets an antiforg heart inserted into his body. As Remy’s career begins to suffer and he falls behind on payments, it is a race against time to find a way to pay for his new heart before he becomes a victim of what he once was.

Jude Law (The Talented Mr. Ripley), fresh off the set of Sherlock Holmes, stars in Repo Men, and has truly found his calling: grotesque, bloody action. When he isn’t slicing open a body to remove an antiforg, he’s slicing open a live person with knives. By the movie’s end, he has mutilated a countless number of people. The over-the-top action role suits him well, hopefully leading to similar roles in the future for Jude “The Butcher” Law.

Repo Men’s not-so-subtle commentary on America’s current economic status will hit close to home for many people, but the humor used throughout and the extreme exaggeration of the topic keep the movie from being a whiny, “fix this problem now” stand against “the man,” instead being an enjoyable satire on America’s uncontrollable spending, and the resulting consequences.

One of the few complaints about Repo Men comes in the form of Jude Law’s costar, Forest Whitaker (Vantage Point). He plays the role of Remy’s long time best friend and coworker, who cannot come to terms with Remy’s accident. While he acts the part well, many of the intense action/fight scenes involving him don’t seem as convincing as they could have, had a slightly younger actor been cast.

Boasting some of the most intense fight scenes seen in a recent movie, Repo Men is not for the viewer looking for a light-hearted trip to the movies, or one with a weak stomach. Numerous scenes could cause certain viewers to avert their eyes, mainly the extremely graphic removal of people’s organs. The amount of blood and gore in the movie is incredible for those who can stomach it, though not everyone will be able to.

Repo Men will please any action movie lover, or anyone looking for an enjoyable satire on American economy. Provided one can tolerate grotesque, blood-laden mutilations and over-the-top fight scenes, Repo Men will surely resonate with the viewer long after they leave the theater.