Repo Men – Review

Reviews, Theatrical Reviews, Top Story

Let’s hope Visa doesn’t get any ideas…

Debt is something that pretty much everyone has in common. Unless you’re incredibly good with money, or hit the jackpot somewhere along the line, chances are you owe someone money. Bills get backed up, you choose what needs to be paid the most, maybe let one or two slide for a month in hopes of catching up later, only to find yourself in even deeper with creditors calling ten times a day. Ah, creditors are annoying even if you do ignore their calls, just knowing they won’t leave you alone can keep you up at night.

Now imagine if those creditors had the power to, not call you when you’re past due but show up inside your house in the middle of the night, taser you, then take the money you owe. That’s the basic premise of the action flick Repo Men, though these “creditors” don’t want to reclaim owed money, no, if you’re past due and find yourself face to face with one of these guys, chances are your days are numbered.

Repo Men takes place in the future, where cities are giant metropolitans, and everywhere you look seems like Times Square, with video advertisements and billboards pasted all over. Much like now, things are run by major corporations, one of which is aptly called The Union. The Union is a major player in the medical field, and give people a chance to cheat death, in that there are no longer waiting lists for organ donors. The way they do this is by designing and distributing high-tech artificial organs, bones – let‘s just put it this way, if you can damage it in any way, they can replace it. Their program means everyone has an equal chance at living a longer life, so long as they can fit the bill. There’s the moral of the story, always read the fine print.

Violence in Repo Men comes in waves, and those who are squeamish, or don’t like witnessing surgery may want to pass on this one. If a donor goes three months without payment, they’re immediately tagged, and a repo man is sent out to retrieve the stolen property. In the opening scene, we’re introduced to Remy (Jude Law) who is on one of his retrieval missions. Upon encountering his target, the man calmly tries to talk him down, insisting he has the money and can pay, to which Remy simply replies, “I’m sorry, that’s not my department,” and swiftly tazers the man. Moments later, after a rather graphic, unforgiving surgery is performed by Remy himself right on the man’s floor, he bags the retrieved lung, and leaves the man to die.

It’s this early where I wondered why I would care for this guy as the films protagonist when for the entire first act he does nothing but kill innocent people. But it’s all job related – nothing on the side. It isn’t until later – after an accident on the job – that Remy himself is fitted with an artificial heart, that ironically, opens up his mind to act in a just manner that his real heart never did.

Of course, Remy’s change of heart, both literal and metaphorical, comes with a price that puts Remy on the run from The Union, and his repo partner, and best friend, Jake (Forest Whitaker) while trying to set right the wrongs he made before.

Law and Whitaker are both very talented actors, and they help bring Repo Men to an enjoyable level it likely wouldn’t have hit with actors below their standard. Another star of the film, Liev Schreiber (who plays the evil Union manager Frank), feels wasted in this smaller role, as he’s one of those actors you just wish would get some bigger breaks being as good as he is at what he does.

Relatively unknown director Miguel Sapochnik does a solid job at creating an incredibly gory, action-fest of a film. While some will say it’s needlessly gory, I’d almost have to say that without the over-the-top knife wielding battles between Remy and The Union’s thugs or the brutal surgeries, that Repo Men would have become to tame. With these types of films you either go there, or you don’t. Repo Men does, and successfully shows the remorseless nature of man when mixed with money and greed.

While the movie isn’t breaking any new ground, or telling a story that hasn’t been told in some respect before, it does what it wants to do, and entertains because of it. Those looking for a fast-paced mindless action flick that gives you what you pay for need look no further; you may just want to think twice about buying the tickets with your credit card.


Director: Miguel Sapochnik
Notable Cast: Jude Law, Forest Whitaker, Liev Schreiber
Writer(s): Eric Garcia & Gerret Lerner

Brendan Campbell was here when Inside Pulse Movies began, and he’ll be here when it finishes - in 2012, when a cataclysmic event wipes out the servers, as well as everyone else on the planet other than John Cusack and those close to him. Brendan’s the #1 supporter of Keanu Reeves, a huge fan of popcorn flicks and a firm believer that sheer entertainment can take a film a long way. He currently resides in Canada, where, for reasons stated above, he’s attempting to get closer to John Cusack.