The first original film of 2010? REPO MEN trailer

It’s got Jude Law. It’s got Forest Whitaker. It’s got Liev Schreiber. It’s got realistic violence, an original premise, and a pure sci-fi thriller theme. So far, so good, right?

I remember seeing Jude Law in Gattaca and A.I. and wondering why he never returned to these genre roots. I remember seeing Forest Whitaker in Last King Of Scotland and being scared witless. And I remember seeing Liev Schreiber in X-Men Origins: Wolverine and wondering why everyone talks about him like he’s a serious actor. The director is a guy named Miguel Sapochnik, who I suppose may one day turn out to be somebody, if this movie does well, but I have no prior experience by which to judge him.

Sure the trailer is full of some unfortunate one-liners, but it manages to avoid some annoying cliches. It also, somehow, comes across as at least superficially mature in its pretty high-order theme and high-impact violence, and the performances look pretty neat.

As for the near-future setting, it looks like the only thing that’s different from our present society is the fake-organ industry. It’s a little bit lame when films go for a future setting and then change only one significant thing about society. I know it helps to focus the film, but all these movies (Gattaca, A.I., The Island, Surrogates etc.) would be a heck of a lot more interesting if they took a more holistic approach to the visualisation of the future.

That said I’ll definitely be in line to see this, if only because it seems moderately fresh in comparison to the myriad of sequels, remakes, and reboots we’re looking at in 2010. What do you reckon? Standard Hollywood sci-fi thriller dross, or potential for genuine quality?