R.I.P.D., also known as the Rest in Peace Department, is an organization comprised of dead police officers who return to earth in order to bring back dead people/souls that managed escaped judgment. R.I.P.D., which is based on a comic book, follows Nick (Ryan Reynolds), a Boston police officer who was killed on a raid and then rises to the R.I.P.D. because he has skills they require. It is there where he is partnered with an 1800s jovial, talkative and slightly bitter lawman by the name of Roy (Jeff Bridges) to patrol earth. Though it’s a bumpy start, the two eventually get on the same page when they stumble upon some gold and soon discover that there is a much deeper plan on the side of the deceased living souls, aka dead-o’s, and that it’s going to take all of their power and skill to stop them from wrecking havoc on earth.
The big caveat to the officers’ ability to return to earth is that they don’t look like their former selves; instead they are given completely different identities and this results in the most humor throughout the film. Bridges’ Roy looks like a civil war colonel but in reality is a smoking hot woman who turns the head of every man that passes by. Nick on the other hand is a short old Chinese guy with an accent which is actually amazing to watch. This was a fantastic idea and when they show the characters together it’s hilarious yet it also blows your mind because you realize the girl is a dude but you’d do anything to be with her. It actually hurts my head thinking about it. The downside is that these characters don’t get much screen time so the amount of laughs we get out of it are very limited.
The best way I can describe R.I.P.D. is that it’s the poor man’s Men In Black. Instead of this protective agency fighting aliens they are arresting, or killing, dead people. You can tell the cast is trying most of the time even if Jeff Bridges is doing a jovial version of his Rooster Cogburn impression from True Grit or if Kevin Bacon is spitting miserable dialogue.
One would think that since the film is directed by Robert Schwentke, he’s the man who directed the amazingly fun RED (the sequel comes out this weekend), we would end up getting an enjoyable movie but unfortunately that was not the case as he was unable to capture that same entertaining spirit in R.I.P.D. as he did in RED. I think a lot of this has to do with the script and a handful of poor attempts at humor but it also has to do with the overall flow of the movie and the predictable nature of it once we get past the opening scenes.
It’s hard for me to believe this movie had roughly a $130,000,000 budget because it was pretty miserable on the whole. This movie will be lucky if it reaches $70 million globally despite a couple of good ideas and random chuckles throughout. This is one of those films even the great Jeff Bridges can’t save. Actually, I just realized that Ryan Reynolds was a main character, that’s how forgettable the other half is which is saying something since I actually like him.
I do have to give the movie props for one thing and that’s making sure most of the Boston dwelling cast had their appropriate Boston accents. It always bothers me when they ignore that important aspect as it takes away the authenticity of the film for me.
Overall, R.I.P.D. is one of those movies where almost all of the funny parts are in the trailer. In fact, the style and feeling you get from the trailer is exactly what the movie ends up being. When people ask you how it was you simply respond with, “meh.” It’s just one of those movies that doesn’t come together, the pieces fall staggered and uneven resulting in a major loss on an entertainment level and on a financial level.
Rating: A poor man’s Men in Black with a lot less enjoyment (4/10)
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