Miguel Sapochnik's adaptation of Eric Garcia's novel The Repossession Mambo offers a twisted take on the subprime mess. It's the near future, the cityscape is a Gothic maze of jumbotrons and neon ads, and for a cool mill, you can buy yourself a new synthetic heart or kidney.
The catch: the company that manufactures these organs has a lending policy that bleeds its clients dry and then reclaims the merchandise via the title agents, who are part Terminator and part triage surgeon. Remy (Jude Law) and Jake (Forest Whitaker) are two of the best in the bloody biz — until Remy finds himself with an ersatz implanted organ that he can't afford.
Given the ingenious high concept and the impressive ensemble, Repo Men should have offered some lacerating satire, but the derivative filmmaking (whole sets and scenes are lifted from Blade Runner, Pulp Fiction, and Old Boy) and reality-show dialogue take the heart right out of it.
