Review: Repo Man (A-)

Repo Man (Special Edition) (1984)
Directed by Alex Cox
Starring Emilio Estevez, Harry Dean Stanton, Sy Richardson, Dick Rude, Olivia Barash and Tracey Walter
MPAA: R
Grade: A-

Review by Bobby Nashville

"A repo man is always intense... C'mon let's go get a drink."

I've seen this movie maybe five or six times and honestly, it gets better every time. Repo Man is a sci-fi B movie with some fantastic punk rock attitude mashed in for good measure. It's clever, it's insightful and it's funny as hell. And oh yeah, the music kicks ass.

Repo Man stars Emilio Estevez (his best performance by far) as a punker teen in Los Angeles that is enlisted to work as a repo man. He learns the trade from some cynical, freaky cats, such as Harry Dean Stanton and Sy Richardson. They snort speed, steal cars and live by the "repo code". There is great chemistry between Estevez and Harry Dean Stanton, and the film has wicked dialogue.

Did I mention that Repo Man also has one of the best movie soundtracks of all time? Well, it does, sucker. Repo Man features classic wall to wall punk music by the Circle Jerks, Iggy Pop, Suicidal Tendencies and more. The music rocks. It fits the movie. What more can you ask for in a soundtrack?

Repo Man is one of the most underrated B movie comedies from the 80's. Thank god this hasn't been "updated" with a stupid re-make starring some crappy MTV reality stars. Just about every other classic underground film from the 80's eventually gets massacred, so I guess it's due. Until then, I'll just stick with the original, because it just keeps getting better with age.