Repo Men 2010 Movie Review - Universal Pictures
It is one thing to repossess a car or a house, but what about artificial organs? The 2010 movie, Repo Men, explores such situations in bloody detail.
These words are spoken by Remy, the main character from Universal Pictures, Repo Men, portrayed by Jude Law. It's an interesting premise; what happens if someone misses a payment on a body part? Should the owner have the right to take it back?
Though it is doubtful it will ever be legal to slice open a human and reclaim an artificial organ, it does make for an interesting plot. The majority of these people die as a result of such unorthodox surgery, not to mention how gross these scenes are. The director was certainly going for realism, but it is unlikely that emotionally healthy men could be such repo men.
A Family Man Repossesses Organs
Remy is a married man with a young son. His life seems normal enough until the viewer sees his obvious enjoyment of his job. After one disgusting flashback, where he and his partner, portrayed by Forest Whitaker, have butchered a family at Christmas. They are both covered in blood, holding bloody organs, as they look at each other and burst out laughing. What can possibly be funny about such a gruesome situation, made worse by the Christmas lights and tree seen through the window behind them?
Remy's wife is aware of what he does and as has asked him to transfer to Sales. This doesn't exactly make her a sympathetic character, since she is accepting of the company he works for. Sales or Repossession, this company is awful. They sell over priced artificial organs to people who obviously cannot afford them, thereby leading to the inevitable repossessions. What makes the wife even more unsympathetic is that she throws him out once he has his new heart and then finds he cannot do the repossessions anymore. Unfortunately, he cannot do Sales either without telling the customers the gruesome end result when they are unable to pay.
Repo Man Becomes a Wanted Man
The main premise of the movie is what happens when a Repo Man is forced to accept an artificial heart and then falls behind in his payments? His best friend and partner must reclaim the heart, but can he? It's one thing to cut open the chest of a stranger, but is that possible when that person is a friend? There is an unusual twist to the movie. If there is anyone who has not seen Repo Men and/or has not read any of the write ups about it, spoilers are ahead.
The last half hour of the movie is actually Remy's dream. Since Remy is knocked out several times, it isn't easy to tell when that dream starts. That in itself makes the movie unpredictable. Jake, Remy's partner, decides he cannot kill his friend after nearly losing him in a fight. He then pays off his heart and puts him in the Dream Net for the rest of his life.
Some complaints of the movie have been the dream itself. Why wouldn't Remy have placed himself on an island from the beginning, instead of having to struggle? That wouldn't have made sense though. In order for him to believe the dream is real, it had to pick up where reality ended. Remy had to take out the company, so he and his new girlfriend, Beth, could live in peace. Though everything works out well for all the main characters in the end, the only depressing thing is realizing that none of it actually happened.
Happy Ending Isn't What it Seems
Remy will live the rest of his life in a dream coma, but it is unclear what will happen to Beth. She is also past due on her artificial organs. Will Jake kill her getting them back? The owner of the company, portrayed by Liev Schreiber, is evil personified, but he continues on with his devious plans. Will he ever get his just desserts?
These unanswered questions leave an unpleasant taste behind, almost as unpleasant as the unnecessary gore throughout the movie. After all that is said and done, Repo Men is still an enjoyable science fiction action flick and is definitely worth a rental. It is doubtful though that anyone will want to see it a second time, so don't waste money buying the DVD.
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