Jude Law’s retelling of Minority Report

Repo Men - Miguel Sapochnik

A lovely little story starts this review, examining the true fact that I’m connected to the one and only Jude Law. Well it’s a small story; we went to the same secondary school. It doesn’t have a great ending; he went for two years and left after not liking it and becoming the target of bullying. So yeah, it’s not a connection seeing he was there like 10-15 years before me, but it still counts. Kinda. But anyway, looking at his latest release Repo Men, i was genuinely interested in it, hearing people call it a cross between Blade Runner and Children of Men, which it is, but in a pleasantly surprisingly way, swaying between both to create something enjoyable and a little refreshing. Sure it manufactures the same world and the same kind of characters but uses them in different situations, with different emotions and a different type of storytelling. It’s a solid fun film from Law who seems to have sound himself in a bit of form with films lately, especially the fun Sherlock Holmes which i also enjoyed. Plus Forest Whitaker taking more of a lighter role is something new and i like it, it suits him but in the back of your mind, you still fear the fuck out of that dude. As well as Sabretooth from the dreadful Wolverine movie appears as a bit role, nothing too much to worry about, a villainous type role which ends horribly bad but funny at the same time.

The film follows “repo men”, people who collect machines that, in the future, have been made to act as vital organs, like hearts, kidneys, livers and that, and so these people, kinda like bailiffs, come to collect from people who can’t keep up with affording them. The Union, which the organisation is called, hires these men to do the deeds and Jude Law is one of them. Set in the future where people can live on without their organs using these machines, half of the film shows Law at work, showing his skills and having a wife and kid. It’s all very hunky dory, but the second half, well you can see where it’s going, and he becomes one of them, and goes on the run. It’s a flip reverse, the hunter becomes the hunted and so Law experiences what it’s like to be a normie and learns to grow (yawn). In the end, it works out for him, or does it? Great ending, never saw it coming. Somewhat similar to Inception strangely, where the ending is something to discuss because we all have theories of Inception but here they show it. I won’t reveal it as it’s really good but i do suggest seeing it. It’s violent, it’s funny in places, it’s got good action sequences, the look is spot on, and Law isn’t annoying.

7/10

Simon Childs