Repo Men

It's a sad day when science fiction satire gets as hackneyed as it does in director Miguel Sapochnik's blood-and-bullets adaptation of Eric Garcia's "Repossession Mambo." Remy (Jude Law) and Jake (Forest Whitaker) are medical repo men for "The Union," a company that sells mechanical organs to patients, and then comes calling to take them back when the person falls behind on payments. The narrative conceit isn't that great to begin with, but Sapochnik uses every blood-splattering cliché in the book to reduce the story to pulp. Carice van Houten momentarily piques interest as Remy's abandoning wife Carol before Alice Braga ("I Am Legend") takes over dystopian duties as a walking billboard for mechanical transplants--she's loaded with them. "Repo Men" is a joyless experiment in stupefaction. Like pornography, you know it when you see it, and you've seen all before.

Rated R. 92 mins. (D) (One Star - out of five/no halves)