The most interesting element of many science fiction films is the future projection of the human race. These films paint a picture of our moral philosophy and how it could change from the introduction of new technologies. Although many of these projections are extreme, they provide an insight and comparison to current moral thought. They also show the end result of many possible ‘slippery slopes’ discussed today. Following in the footsteps of films like Blade Runner, The Final Cut, I Robot and Minority Report comes Repo Men. No, this isn’t a sequel to Emilio Estevez’ colourful movie of the 80′s – but it is grotesque.
Jude Law and Forrest Whitaker play repo men for a company called ‘The Union’, which as their job title suggests, repossesses property from unlucky customers who are down on their payments. The product? Artificial organ transplants. The repo men have no issue with cutting open their victims for not meeting their dues, not until Remy (Jude Law) has an accident, and wakes up with an artificial organ himself. Now Remy is on the run from the organisation he used to work for, unable to pay for his organ he discovers an underground group of fugitives, who are trying to escape their debts to ‘The Union’.
The film looks to be a mix between Blade Runner and Minority Report, with Remy hunting down debtors like the androids from Blade Runner, with little initial consideration of his morality. While the film looks to use a cold visual style similar to Minority Report and seems to have the “tables-turned” fugitive storyline as well.
What sets the premise of Repo Men apart is the extremity of the violence and how the society accepts it. I watched a short animated film by the same director (Miguel Sapochnik), which acts as a prologue to the movie featured on iTunes. While a rather predictable short story, the film exposes the brutality of the repo men – which could be quite disturbing for some viewers. The quality of the movie will rely on how cleverly the main characters justify their work, with such an extreme storyline it will be crucial for viewers to suspend their disbelief easily.
Repo Men Trailer:
Sources: [Official Website], [Trailer Addict]
