Repo Men: Derivative But Better Than You Think

Roundly trashed by both critics and fanboys, this odd little duck was a better piece of filmaking than I had expected. Yes it has it's flaws and parts were definitely ripped off from better movies like Blade Runner and Brazil, but there's a lot more to this movie like spectacular fight sequences and buckets of gore.
The plot is original. Jude Law plays Remy, who with partner Jake (Forest Whitker), slaughter anybody who owes back due on their internal organs in the near future. If you can't pay for your organs, repo men will come get you. After an accident, Remy's heart is damaged, given a new one and starts to see the horror of what he does to everyday people. Teaming with a beautiful renegade Beth (Alice Braga), Remy attempts to flee to South America where they will be safe from the his one time partner/nemesis. Liev Shriver is excellent as the head of the organ company, all slickness and slime. Remy's soon to be ex wife though is one dimensional and very shrewish, although being married to a legalized serial killer will do that I guess. The part is just woefully underwritten and, to be honest, unnecessary, as is his poor son. These characters would have been better left on the drawing board.
The directing is both sharp but unfocused all at once. The movie is well shot and the fight scenes and gore are well done. Action sequences can be done poorly in the wrong hands so I was happy to see the guy know his shots. Where he and the writers failed was in not upping the edge a little. Too much from others movies, including a shot right out The Shining, a city scape right out Blade Runner and an ending mimicking Brazil. This movie is not nearly that good. The other thing that was missing was any sort of social satire which the movie was ripe for. Paul Verhoven would have had a field day with this. A missed opportunity that would have catapulted this film to the next level. Like most films this year, this one was still a few rewrites away from greatness. Too bad too because overall, it was pretty good film.

3 and 1/2 stars out of 5