Relativity Media, Stuber Productions, Mambo Film Productions and Universal Pictures.

Written By: Eric Garcia & Garrett Lerner based on Eric Garcia’s novel, “The Repossession Mambo”

Based on co-screenwriter Eric Garcia’s 2003 novel, “The Repossession Mambo”, “Repo Men” takes us to an undetermined date in the future where an organization known as The Union have revolutionized the manufacturing and selling of synthetic, artificial human organs. Additionally, The Union employs a sales department and despite the astronomical cost of these replacement organs, they will gladly accept a small down payment and finance the hundreds of thousands of remaining dollars necessary for you to own your organ replacement outright. If you keep up the monthly installments, life is grand. If you fall behind in your payments, a notice arrives. If your delinquency hits 90 days, then The Union retain the right to take back its property. And they will…and they do – by any means necessary.

Jude Law and Forest Whitaker star as Remy and Jake, the two best repo men in the business. Jude Law’s Remy is married with a son; however, his wife (Carice Van Houten, Black Book) is tired of the long hours and she has all but demanded Remy accept an available 9-5 sales position at The Union. Jake is Remy’s best friend from childhood. Affable and a bit of a loner, Jake lives the bachelor’s life. In many ways, his partnership with Remy through The Union is his only meaningful relationship and in playing Jake, Forest Whitaker hits the right chords of warmth, anxiety, loyalty, and anger when faced with the possibility of not having his friend working with him day in and day out. “Repo Men” starts strong in establishing the relationship between Jake and Remy and Law and Whitaker have a good and entertaining chemistry together.

After Jake arranges a repo assignment almost literally at Remy’s doorstep, Remy’s wife takes their son and leaves for good. Eager to make one more recovery before moving into the office and trying to make good with his family, Remy arranges to repo a music producer’s heart (Wu-Tang Clan member The RZA). An on-site accident leads to Remy having a change of heart and he soon finds himself empathizing with those who are being repossessed. Add in Beth (Alice Braga), a lounge singer on the run who is almost more synthetic than human, and Remy finds himself the hunted as opposed to being the hunter.

The avenues that make this story an interesting one, and reportedly a very engaging and fascinating novel, are largely ignored here. Health care is THE debate as “Repo Men” hits theaters; yet, the opportunities to make this film timely and socially aware are glaringly missing. Why are the organ costs so astronomically high? Why does insurance fail to cover the incredible synthetic organ advancements? Is not extracting a necessary organ from a human being essentially government-approved murder? How is this legal? Did the health care reform movement of 2010 fail? Or did it succeed? These are concepts which leap to mind but were either ignored by the filmmakers or are simply trivial in the larger scheme of things.

And therein lie all of the inherent problems with “Repo Men”. Miguel Sapochnik has no idea what he is making here. I would be curious if the novelist and co-screenwriter, Eric Garcia, is pleased with this final product. There are some rather gaping wound plot holes which never are resolved and the film lacks sufficient humor to be an enjoyable dark comedy or even good satire. There is nothing here that makes the film thought-provoking or mentally stimulating. And, most egregiously, there is so much blood and gore that the excitement and cringe factor disappears with each passing scene.

Sapochnik appears to draw big blood-red hearts around names such as Sam Peckinpah, Stanley Kubrick, and Quentin Tarantino, as well as scenes from “Blade Runner”, “Children Of Men”, and several other films I have seen but struggle to pinpoint from memory. Every repo extraction and every shootout intensifies with more and more blood until the film hits its highest levels of absurdity with a sex scene where two characters slice themselves open and repo themselves with scanning devices (!?!?!) and a “Kill Bill”-style slash and gash sequence with fountains of blood spraying all over the place and bodies strewn everywhere.

A proverbial twist ending concludes the proceedings in a manner most head-scratching to say the least. I must admit that I turned to my friend after the big reveal and could not for the life of me remember the moment the twist builds on.

So, whatever.

“Repo Men” squanders two great actors giving engaging performances for fanboy wants of blood, gore, and attempts at shock and awe. Some will love it, others will be repulsed and most will be numb or even confused at what the point of the whole endeavor was. I would be most curious if Miguel Sapochnik could even answer that last question.

Should I See It?

YES

The premise is great on paper and fans of the book will be clamoring to see the book brought to life on the big screen.

If you are at all interested, Jude Law and Forest Whitaker are great here, playing characters much different than anything they’ve been cast in previously.

If you are a fan of bloody action movies, this film gives you many IV bags full of any type you could need or want.

NO

The film devolves into a mess stylistically and first-time director Miguel Sapochnik seems to be playing to an audience of one.

The script is so full of holes and the supporting characters so underwritten, that there is hardly anything to engage with.

Those sensitive to open wound surgery shots and people digging inside human bodies with their hands, be warned. That happens here and it happens a lot!

Another twist ending, really?