My original intention of going to see Repo Men starring Jude Law and Forrest Whitaker was to do a simple compare and contrast al la Deep Impact and Armageddon, between Repo Men and Repo: The Genetic Opera. What I was not prepared for was the many messages packed into this story about a future where they have solved the organ donor problem, with manufactured organs sold at a premium. You can get that heart or kidney transplant you need at an exorbitant price, but don’t worry you can also get it at small monthly payments. “You owe that to your family.” But much like Repo: The Genetic Opera if you can’t pay your fee the repo man will come to repossess them. This is where the movies have the most in common, and other than this the films are two very separate entities.
Repo Men shares it’s bleak consumer driven future more with one of my all-time favorite films Robocop, with its all knowing, all owning corporate entity called simply The Union; which is much different than the Hot Top clad future inhabited by folks of Repo:TGO. Repo Men is a very violent action film with a look and feel very reminiscent of Paul Verhoeven in his late 80s early 90s heyday.
But below that surface is a very poignant look at consumer culture, debt, and the middleclass that really resonated with me after the last scene had vanished from the screen. The film follows the story of Remy, a repo man played by Jude Law, in a role very different than anything he has played. He is a war veteran with a taste for blood and devoid of any humanity whatsoever; a super stylized stereotype of your gung-ho red blooded American. Remy is also a symbol for the blue collar working-class in Middle America in the film, working for “The Man” not asking any questions, trying to support his wife and child.
Like most good stories, Repo Men is taken to an extreme to prove a point.  Remy is the best repo man on the east coast, and one day a job goes wrong and Remy is killed. He is brought back with a new Union heart beating in his chest, like those he once repossessed so many times. Upon waking up and finding this out, his first urge is to attempt to kill himself by ripping it out himself.
I have to note, up until this point in the film the people we meet in Remy’s bloody repossession scenes are people living above their means and just can’t pay their bills. It brought to mind the person in front of me in self checkout with a Land Rover and a $5,000 watch, who’s credit card just got declined for a gallon of milk. The organs in the film are a euphemism for that debt in this country. Debt that seems to be right of every American along with free speech and a right to bear arms. The film shows how people handle and take on that debt for different reasons. How sometimes the situation is a known no-win for people entering into contract with The Union, and very reminiscent of the debacle with the sub-prime mortgage market.
Remy, now with his new Union heart and the debt, finds that a more human face has been put on these people he once hunted. Remy decides his days as a repo man are over. It is here the story follows Remy’s path to finding his humanity. I won’t spoil the story any further, except that is filled with all kinds of  hyper-stylized violence; with an ending you will not see coming a mile away.
The acting in the film is well done, the cast sells their roles with confidence and ease. I really enjoyed seeing Law in a character that is so different than his usual cliche ladies man role that we are so accustomed to seeing him in.
Forest Whitaker plays a role very close to Denzel’s in Training Day, and does a great job as well. He plays the main heavy opposite Liev Schreiber and makes your skin crawl from time to time. Liev Schreiber steals the show as Frank; the boss of Law and Whitaker at the Union. I think as a leading man he should do more films and never seems to get his due. Alice Braga who plays Law’s extra-marital love interest is a very unlikely leading lady, but one who eventually wins you over by the end of the film. After seeing her in Repo Men I am excited to see her role in Robert Rodriuez’s upcoming Predators.
 The direction of the film was well paced, and my only complaints would be a scene where Law and Whitaker have an exchange over the cause of Law’s mishap, which lead to his death. Thank goodness that mystery is not the crux of the film or this review would have been much different. The other would be the ending which while I really enjoyed where they went, I really wondered if it was tacked on after the fact. Because the ending seemed more like an afterthought to retrofit the film making it a bit edgier, than what was originally planned. The main thing leading to this thought on my part was the fact that I question the actor’s identity playing Law’s part in these final scenes.
Overall I enjoyed Repo Men while it’s not for the squeamish, and I can’t really iterate that enough. It is an action film in the vein of days of yore, where the bloodier was the better and ass kicking was an art of one up-manship. Plus with its underlying message it to operate on 2 different levels, much like the action films and sci-fi films of the 60s and 70s. I really wish this film would have come out a year or so earlier where its message would have been a bit more pertinent. I feel this film earns a solid 4 out of 5 stars from Geekadelphia.