Movie Review - R.I.P.D.

 R.I.P.D.   $$ 1/2    

 

PG-13

96 Minutes

Starring: Ryan Reynolds, Jeff Bridges, Kevin Bacon, and Mary-Louise Parker.

Director: Robert Schwentke.

 

            The first time I saw the trailer for this movie, I was jealous. I loved the concept of a police department that worked to control the unruly dead. Oh the stories I could tell with an idea like that. I couldn’t wait to see what Hollywood had done with it.

 

            Then I saw the film. I’m not so excited anymore.            

            Nick (Ryan Reynolds) buries a bag full of gold in his back yard. After talking with his wife about how nice it would be to not have to worry about money, he decides to turn it in as evidence for his current case. But before he can do that, he and his partner, Hayes (Kevin Bacon), are sent to help bust the most notorious criminal in the city and Nick is killed.

            Turns out that Nick hasn’t been the most honest of police officers, but is recruited by the R.I.P.D. (Rest In Peace Department) to send Dead-Os back to Hell. He is partnered with long-time veteran Roy (Jeff Daniels). It isn’t very long before the two of them stumble on an infernal plot to release the inhabitants of Hell upon the Earth.  

            I laughed a lot during the movie. It definitely has some funny bits. Unfortunately, that’s about it. The film failed in just about every other way. The chemistry between Reynolds and Bridges just wasn’t there. I love both actors and enjoy the majority of the work they do, but didn’t feel it here. The best scene with the two of them together is when they are beating the tar out of one another. Not a good sign when you’re talking about how well the characters engaged the audience. I didn’t care about either of the characters and I certainly didn’t care what happened to them.

            Kevin Bacon did a good job in his role, but the only character I found myself liking was Proctor (Mary-Louise Parker). The mysterious romantic sub-plot between her and Roy was the only situation I found myself interested in seeing what happened next.

I would have liked to have had a better look at the dead creatures in the film.  The action scenes were fast and hard to follow and prevented me from getting a good look at the creative take on how their form was shaped by the sins they embraced. That was one of the better concepts in the movie and they could have done more with it.

And then there was the plot. My son described it as Men In Black with dead people. It certainly didn’t feel original or fresh. The entire story was very predictable.

Was this film horrible? No. It just failed to be as epic as the concept could have been. I give RIPD two-and-a-half Movie Bucks. You should see it on the big screen in order to follow the action better, but definitely see it as a matinee or even at a discount theater.

 

                        Randy’s Rating System 

$$$$   = Full Price    See this movie right away and pay full price, it’s worth it.

$$$     = Matinee      Catch this as a matinee or other discounted showing.

$$        = Discount     Wait until this movie reaches a discount theater near you.

$          = Rental         Wait until this movie reaches your local video rental outlet.

0          = No Sale       Don’t see this movie at any price.