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REPO MENMovie Reviews
Science fiction thriller set in a future in which humans extend their lives with the aid of mechanical organs created by a nefarious company that sends repo men after individuals who are incapable of paying for their organs. Cast:Jude Law, Forest Whitaker, Alice Braga, Liev Schreiber, RZADirector:Miguel SapochnikRelease Date:March 19, 2010DVD Release:July 27, 2010From:UniversalRating:RLength:1 hr 51 min
Repo Men played to weak reviews. • Wesley Morris wrote in the Boston Globe, "...the sort of science fiction that opts for scissors to the groin or a bullet to the head rather than a complete thought.... has a moment or two." • And Bill Goodykoontz wrote in the Arizona Republic, "The acting is fine enough... but the slicing and dicing overpowers the cast, the story and everything else." More Reviews Below...
Repo Men Positive Reviews (36 Reviews, reviews below)
Glenn Whipp, Associated Press: POOR(cg) "...a trashy movie that offers its slick dystopian vision as a pretense to lacerate a few dozen bodies in a fashion that makes 'Nip/Tuck' look like 'Marcus Welby, M.D.' "(See all of Glenn Whipp's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 545 words, 03/18/10
Claudia Puig, USA Today: WEAK(cg) "Nothing about this movie seems original or fresh -- including the repurposed mechanical body parts.... the story's internal logic lacks coherence and structure."(See all of Claudia Puig's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 388 words, 03/19/10
James Berardinelli, Reel Views: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "Hopefully, for his next project, Miguel Sapochnik will have something less derivative to work with. 'Repo Men' defeats even his best efforts..."(See all of James Berardinelli's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 795 words, 03/19/10
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NEW YORK/LOS ANGELES/CHICAGO/TORONTO (11 Reviews)
Stephen Holden, New York Times: POOR "...gruesome... strikes a very bitter chord.... loses its edge and turns into a chase movie of no special distinction.... a product as synthetic as an artiforg."(See all of Stephen Holden's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 821 words, 03/19/10
Joe Neumaier, New York Daily News: WEAK(cg) "...skims over areas that might have been ripe for skewering and highlights others that go nowhere. But it makes sure to get in a lot of sliced-open guts."(See all of Joe Neumaier's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 297 words, 03/19/10
Lou Lumenick, New York Post: POOR(cg) "...an interminable, blood-spattered thriller... also the first film I've ever seen where a typewriter is used as a lethal weapon."(See all of Lou Lumenick's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 295 words, 03/19/10
Robert Abele, Chicago Tribune: WEAK(cg) "It takes a more skillful hand than Sapochnik's to mix cinematic homage, thrills and thematic fluidity -- think 'Minority Report' or 'Children of Men'..."(See all of Robert Abele's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 433 words, 03/19/10
Rafer Guzman, New York Newsday: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "First-time director Miguel Sapochnik directs with borrowed panache... All in all, it's a darkly bloody good time, and a vicarious way to take a hacksaw to your HMO."(See all of Rafer Guzman's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 298 words, 03/19/10
Nick Pinkerton, Village Voice: POOR "...this is a poor man's 'Daybreakers'... a supercilious inhumanity-of-the-system fable that the invisible hand will mercifully sweep into discount-DVD oblivion."(See all of Nick Pinkerton's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 201 words, 03/16/10
Peter Howell, Toronto Star: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...take chunks of 'Blade Runner,' 'Logan's Run' and 'District 9,' add a dollop of 'Total Recall' and fry it up in the lard of 'Repo! The Genetic Opera.' Season and serve."(See all of Peter Howell's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 563 words, 03/19/10
Josep Parera, La Opinion: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "Hay muy buenas ideas esparcidas a lo largo de 'Repo Men.' El problema es que todas esas ideas han sido copiadas de otros títulos mejores."(See all of Josep Parera's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 452 words, 03/19/10
Norman Wilner, Toronto Now: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...a dystopian thriller that's learned the cynical lessons of 'Brazil' and 'Minority Report' and applies them to its own bloody ends.... has its moments."(See all of Norman Wilner's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 216 words, 03/18/10
KEY CITIES (14 Reviews)
John Anderson, Washington Post: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "Could a world actually exist in which artificial organs bought on credit could be repossessed from their delinquent containers by Taser-wielding corporate ninjas?"(See all of John Anderson's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 566 words, 03/19/10
Carrie Rickey, Philadelphia Inquirer: WEAK(cg) "Director Miguel Sapochnik is a former storyboard artist more attentive to how his atmospherics look than to storytelling or acting."(See all of Carrie Rickey's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 481 words, 03/19/10
Mick LaSalle, Houston Chronicle/San Francisco Chronicle: MODERATE(cg) "...a fairly interesting little idea ends up in a shotgun marriage with a whole host of action-movie conventions that are either ugly or tired."(See all of Mick LaSalle's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 482 words, 03/19/10
Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star-Tribune: POOR(cg) "With its radiantly ugly visuals, mean-spirited worldview and gut-wrenching levels of gore, 'Repo Men' is about as entertaining as a burst appendix."(See all of Colin Covert's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 374 words, 03/19/10
Bill Goodykoontz, Arizona Republic: MODERATE(cg) "...more cynical than thoughtful... The acting is fine enough... but the slicing and dicing overpowers the cast, the story and everything else."(See all of Bill Goodykoontz's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 535 words, 03/19/10
Wesley Morris, Boston Globe: MODERATE(cg) "...the sort of science fiction that opts for scissors to the groin or a bullet to the head rather than a complete thought.... has a moment or two."(See all of Wesley Morris's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 889 words, 03/19/10
John Hartl, Seattle Times: MODERATE(cg) "It looks a lot like 'Blade Runner' for a long stretch, then it echoes the bleakness of 'The Road,' then it tries out a comic approach, then it moves into satirical prophecy."(See all of John Hartl's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 425 words, 03/19/10
Marc Mohan, Portland Oregonian: WEAK(cg) "What could have been a biting, darkly comic action flick about capitalistic health care run amok is instead a familiar, gory, post-apocalyptic slog."(See all of Marc Mohan's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 212 words, 03/19/10
Joe Williams, St. Louis Post-Dispatch: MODERATE(cg) "...has aspirations to social significance but neither the budget of 'Minority Report' nor the brains of 'Children of Men.' "(See all of Joe Williams's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 314 words, 03/19/10
Rene Rodriguez, Miami Herald: VERY GOOD(cg) "...ends up finding its own weird, outrageous vibe - a dark, gory vision of a dystopian future leavened with cracked humor, a warped sensibility and a daring spirit."(See all of Rene Rodriguez's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 455 words, 03/19/10
ALTERNATIVE/INDIE PRESS (5 Reviews)
Nick Pinkerton, Village Voice: POOR "...this is a poor man's 'Daybreakers'... a supercilious inhumanity-of-the-system fable that the invisible hand will mercifully sweep into discount-DVD oblivion."(See all of Nick Pinkerton's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 201 words, 03/16/10
Tom Meek, Boston Phoenix: MODERATE(cg) "...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."(See all of Tom Meek's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 157 words, 03/18/10
Norman Wilner, Toronto Now: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...a dystopian thriller that's learned the cynical lessons of 'Brazil' and 'Minority Report' and applies them to its own bloody ends.... has its moments."(See all of Norman Wilner's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 216 words, 03/18/10
Edward Adams, Atlanta Creative Loafing: WEAK(cg) "...gets bogged down with the emotionally charged drivel from Law's bad-guy-gone-good Remy and his and Jake's awkward co-dependency."(See all of Edward Adams's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 612 words, 03/19/10
HIGHBROW PRESS (2 Reviews)
Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal: POOR "...basically a soulless slasher flick... The real puzzle is how a major studio could put its name on such a heartless piece of hack work."(See all of Joe Morgenstern's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 312 words, 03/19/10
Stephen Holden, New York Times: POOR "...gruesome... strikes a very bitter chord.... loses its edge and turns into a chase movie of no special distinction.... a product as synthetic as an artiforg."(See all of Stephen Holden's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 821 words, 03/19/10
MOVIE INDUSTRY (5 Reviews)
Justin Chang, Daily Variety: POOR "...has neither the intellectual rigor nor the internal consistency needed to make its vision of the future seem even remotely plausible... a muddle of conflicting moods."(See all of Justin Chang's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 964 words, 03/17/10
Michael Rechtshaffen, Hollywood Reporter: POOR "...a blood-soaked, derivative and increasingly ridiculous sci-fi thriller... the resulting in-your-face mess never knows what it wants to be when it grows up."(See all of Michael Rechtshaffen's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 495 words, 03/17/10
Stephen Holden, New York Times: POOR "...gruesome... strikes a very bitter chord.... loses its edge and turns into a chase movie of no special distinction.... a product as synthetic as an artiforg."(See all of Stephen Holden's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 821 words, 03/19/10
Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal: POOR "...basically a soulless slasher flick... The real puzzle is how a major studio could put its name on such a heartless piece of hack work."(See all of Joe Morgenstern's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 312 words, 03/19/10
20.8 Percentage Points Average Difference Between Reviews (Norm is 18.4pp; <18.4pp = More Consistent; >18.4pp = More Mixed)
Repo Men's reviews are separated by an average 20.8 percentage points. The norm for this measure is 18.4 percentage points. Less than 18.4 indicates more consistent reviews; greater than 18.4 indicates more mixed reviews. In the chart below, each dot represents a review, with the dots at the top more positive than the dots at the bottom. From left to right, the dots represent reviews in big, bigger and biggest publications. Roll over each dot for more detail.
Repo Men (36 reviews) Roll over dots for each review
Coverage:Repo Men's reviews cover 45.7% of potential readers (average is 67.9%). Volume:The film's reviews total 16,949 words involume (average is 20,194 words). Length:The film's reviews average 471 words in length (the norm is 517 words).
Repo Men Coverage, Volume & Length (36 Reviews, reviews below)
Reviews Broke 8.5 Hours Before Release (Norm is 1.2 Release)
Repo Men's reviews on average broke 8.5 hours before opening. Norm for this measure is 1.2 hours before. The chart below shows reviews on opening day and the days before and after opening; the left side is earlier and the right side is later. The red bars extending above the horizontal mid-line represent more positive reviews, and the red bars extending below represent more negative reviews. The white space/red bar in the middle is Repo Men's opening day. Click on any bar for a list of the reviews for that day.
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