Movie Review: "Repo Men"
Aug. 10th, 2010 12:06 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
matrixrefugee***1/2 out of *****
Hokay... I've been on the fence about this one since I'd heard rumors it was based on the concepts that went into "Repo! The Genetic Opera", which allegedly were swiped by some exec at Universal, when Terence "Graverobber" Zudnich and Darren Smith were shopping their concepts around to the big studios (Before Darren Lynn Bousman got on board). But I discovered it was based on a novel "The Repossession Mambo" by Eric Garcia -- which I've read (and which was fascinating, but the main character's personality just irritated me: he was a little too cocky and blunt for my tastes). As far as I can tell... the concept of a future in which there is repossessing artificial organs is a bit of a broad idea; the use of the term "repo-men" in this context is irksome, but I did a little digging and found that it's been used as a slang term for guys who repossess cars. I think the only thing that can be copyrighted here is the execution of said depiction of a future in which artificial organs are being repossessed.
But... but... but... Jude Law is in it (squee!!)! And he humanized the character that he played, making him much more pleasant to hang out with: book!Remy is irritatingly rough around the edges, but while movie!Remy is still rough-natured, he's got a heart (all puns intended) and a soul. His developing a conscience once he's the one with the "artiforg" is all the more convincing and credible, even tragic.
The similarities with "Repo! The Genetic Opera" are interesting, but mostly cosmetic: completely different plot and execution. Plus, the world of "Repo Men" has more in common with that of "Minority Report" than that of RtGO: it's more CrapSacchrine than Crapsack (pristine futuristic monochrome and neon lighting contrasted with burning trashcan squalor, rather than moldering gothicism contrasted with burning trashcans). They do have the similar tongue-in-cheek attitudes toward the guro elements, but... this soon starts to take a backseat as Remy starts to realize what his job really entails.
And... and... and... Jude gets an almost Matrix-like fight scene at the climax, wielding two knives against a bunch of Repo Men, security guards and corporate types (to say nothing of upgrading the weaponry to include a plastic bag, a hack saw, and a ball-peen hammer).
Not sure what to make of the ending, and it irritated me a bit (I like my happy endings to be the real deal, we'll say), hence the three and a half out of five star rating. Also, Jude's son Rafferty gets a cameo role as a younger Remy in a flashback scene.
While I'm at it, I gotta tell a funny story from when I was a kid: I had several medical problems at birth (crossed eyes, and an abdominal hernia that could have killed me), which required several procedures to repair. My folks had no health insurance at the time and so they'd had to pay for my eye operations on the installment plan. Well, we missed a payment, and apparently my mother got panicky over it. To which my dad jokingly replied, "What are they gonna do? Repossess our kid?" Still funny, but there is a side of me that cringes just a bit when I think of it...
Hokay... I've been on the fence about this one since I'd heard rumors it was based on the concepts that went into "Repo! The Genetic Opera", which allegedly were swiped by some exec at Universal, when Terence "Graverobber" Zudnich and Darren Smith were shopping their concepts around to the big studios (Before Darren Lynn Bousman got on board). But I discovered it was based on a novel "The Repossession Mambo" by Eric Garcia -- which I've read (and which was fascinating, but the main character's personality just irritated me: he was a little too cocky and blunt for my tastes). As far as I can tell... the concept of a future in which there is repossessing artificial organs is a bit of a broad idea; the use of the term "repo-men" in this context is irksome, but I did a little digging and found that it's been used as a slang term for guys who repossess cars. I think the only thing that can be copyrighted here is the execution of said depiction of a future in which artificial organs are being repossessed.
But... but... but... Jude Law is in it (squee!!)! And he humanized the character that he played, making him much more pleasant to hang out with: book!Remy is irritatingly rough around the edges, but while movie!Remy is still rough-natured, he's got a heart (all puns intended) and a soul. His developing a conscience once he's the one with the "artiforg" is all the more convincing and credible, even tragic.
The similarities with "Repo! The Genetic Opera" are interesting, but mostly cosmetic: completely different plot and execution. Plus, the world of "Repo Men" has more in common with that of "Minority Report" than that of RtGO: it's more CrapSacchrine than Crapsack (pristine futuristic monochrome and neon lighting contrasted with burning trashcan squalor, rather than moldering gothicism contrasted with burning trashcans). They do have the similar tongue-in-cheek attitudes toward the guro elements, but... this soon starts to take a backseat as Remy starts to realize what his job really entails.
And... and... and... Jude gets an almost Matrix-like fight scene at the climax, wielding two knives against a bunch of Repo Men, security guards and corporate types (to say nothing of upgrading the weaponry to include a plastic bag, a hack saw, and a ball-peen hammer).
Not sure what to make of the ending, and it irritated me a bit (I like my happy endings to be the real deal, we'll say), hence the three and a half out of five star rating. Also, Jude's son Rafferty gets a cameo role as a younger Remy in a flashback scene.
While I'm at it, I gotta tell a funny story from when I was a kid: I had several medical problems at birth (crossed eyes, and an abdominal hernia that could have killed me), which required several procedures to repair. My folks had no health insurance at the time and so they'd had to pay for my eye operations on the installment plan. Well, we missed a payment, and apparently my mother got panicky over it. To which my dad jokingly replied, "What are they gonna do? Repossess our kid?" Still funny, but there is a side of me that cringes just a bit when I think of it...
