It’s hard to know where to start on the mess of a film that is R.I.P.D. It should be could fun as it is a buddy-cop movie mixed in with zombies and lots of CGI but it really isn’t.
Nick (Ryan Reynolds) is a cop in Philadelphia, one who likes to keep some of the loot for himself. But since he is a good guy at heart he decides to change his way and hand in the gold the stashed away. However his partner Bobby Hayes (Kevin Bacon) isn’t too happy about this development and kills him.
Finding himself in some sort or heavenly police department, the R. I P.D (Rest in Peace Department) sitting opposite agent Proctor (Mary-Louise Parker), Nick soon discovers a whole new reality.
Partnered up with old time wild-west Marshall Roysephus Pulsipher , big Roy(Jeff Bridges) Nick is sent back to Philly to track down and bring back ‘deados’, dead people who somehow stayed on earth and turned into evil demons packaged in human shells.
This leads to CGI chases around Philadelphia, massive cartoon like undead running riot and a show down with a massive portal threatening to end the world.
R.I.P.D is tries to be a bit like Men in Black or Ghostbusters, but it really isn’t. There is nothing new; the plot is weak and very predictable, the CGI is a little rough and the there is no real excitement.
Reynolds is the same character he always is, no matter if it’s his take on the Green Lantern or Wade Wilson in X-Men Origins : Wolverine he just furrows his brow and spouts a few one-liners.
Bridges on the other hand seems to have cornered the “old coot” market and his version of Big Roy is no different from his characters in Men who stare at Goats, Crazy Heart and True Grit. The only difference is this time he is dead but his mumbling tobacco chewing intonations are no less annoying.
Bacon has perfected his sleazy bad-guy routine and offers really no surprises as Bobby Hayes. Parker is kind of cute as Proctor but can’t really offer any real support.
Whatever director Robert Schwentke was thinking when he made R.I.P.D, a big budget film, is anyone’s guess. So if you are looking to have some fun there are lots of better ways to spend 96min of your life
jensinewall 