Repo! The Genetic Opera

“Everybody make genetics your bitch!”

I’ve already reviewed the soundtrack, and now I’m here to review the movie.

Much like other things I find myself reviewing, this is not high-class, award-winning cinema. This is a musical, a rock opera to be more specific, that takes place in the future and involves organ repossession, a drug called Zydrate (which comes in a little glass vial. A little glass vial? A little glass vial!), and has a scene in which Paris Hilton’s face comes off.

Yes, Paris Hilton is in this. But I’m getting ahead of myself here.

In the year 2056, organ failure has become an epidemic. GeneCo, the company run by Rotti Largo, offers replacement organs to the masses, but there’s a catch: if you miss a payment on that new heart or that kidney transplant you got, then GeneCo sends out the Repo man to repossess that shiny new organ with the barcode on it. And, well, the Repo man is going to be pretty violent about the whole thing, too. This isn’t like waking up in a bathtub with your kidneys missing, no. Chances are you won’t wake up at all. So, it’s a rock opera about ripping out people’s organs in the future! How awesome is that?

“And what if you could have genetic perfection? Would you change who you are, if you could? Because it‘s quick! It‘s clean! It‘s pure! It could change your life, rest assured! It's the 21st century cure!”

That’s kind of a problem. They came up with a fucking awesome concept here, but the realization and execution isn’t quite what it could be. The plot itself actually revolves less around the ripping and tearing of organs and has more to do with um, family drama. You have Shilo, the 17-year-old girl who is confined to her room due to an unexplained disease that had killed her mother. Her father, Nathan Wallace, is the lead Repo man for GeneCo, unbeknownst to his daughter of course. And then there’s Rotti Largo, head of GeneCo, and his three kids: Amber Sweet, played by Paris Hilton, a bitch with a love of surgery and addiction to Zydrate, Pavi, the narcissist who likes wearing the faces of women, and Luigi, a man with one hell of a temper. Rotti is dying, and the three siblings squabble over who will be inheriting GeneCo when the old man bites the dust. Oh, and then there’s the opera itself, who’s lead act is Blind Mag, played by Sarah Brightman.

It’s…actually a bit of a mess, really. It’s nothing too difficult to follow, but the story does flounder quite a bit. I have to place the blame on poor character development for one thing, especially the plot bits that involve Blind Mag. She plays a huge role, but has so little screen time or anything that it doesn’t hit quite as hard as it should when shit hits the fan. The ending also leaves a bit to be desired…

Also, Luigi and Pavi needed a hell of a lot more screen time too. Sure, they didn’t play much of a part in the plot, but they were incredibly entertaining and I really wanted to see more of them. I wanted more of the Grave Robber, too. But no, most of the movie revolves around Shilo as she escapes her room, bickers with her dad, and interacts with other characters, and well, she kind of annoyed me. But that’s just my opinion, some of you might connect with her and love her, but I didn’t like her much.

I know it sounds like I’m really trashing this movie, and while it is pretty flawed as far as the story goes, I was still thoroughly entertained. There’s not a whole lot of humor in it, but when there is, it’s very dark humor, and bloody hilarious too. Did I mention you watch Paris Hilton’s face come off? Yes! Also, the presentation and cinematography are excellent. This futuristic city is realized excellently, to such a degree that I wish they’d come out with one of those encyclopedias that explains everything from the architecture to the fashion to other things like the little communicator bracelets. You know, like those huge books for the Star Wars universe? I want one for the Repo universe, it’s that visually awesome.

And well, you’ve seen my review of the soundtrack, and seeing the action with the songs makes them more endearing. Not a day goes by where I don’t wind up with at least two or three songs getting stuck in my head at some point or another. It’s damn catchy.

So, do you like rock music? Opera? Ultraviolence? Crazy goth fashion? Are you willing to ignore bad story flaws? If so, then check this movie out, it’ll certainly leave an imprint on your brain, visually or sonically.

“He won’t bother to write or phone you, he’ll just rip the still beating heart from your chest! REPO MAN!!”

[Brett]