Review of R.I.P.D. (2013) by Shpostal — 20 Jul 2013

The summer movie season isn't exactly one of the better ones, with "The Lone Ranger" falling flat and no real dramatic gem. "Wolverine" is out next week and may be the hit Hollywood is hoping for next to the wonderful "Despicable Me 2". Despite its promos, "RIPD" doesn't live up to the preview's promise.

I was suspicious when I didn't find any review in the paper, usually a warning sign. However, I wanted to give it a shot because the premise was a good idea.

Too bad the execution wasn't. Jeff Bridges and Ryan Reynolds star as the team of dead cops assigned to protect living people from dead people out to wreak havoc. The film doesn't say whether the cops are in a soul limbo, or if being "erased" will send them fully into the next world or kill their souls completely.

What works in this movie is the premise, and scenes where innocent people see Reynolds and Bridges as an old Oriental man and a vivacious blonde. That portion could have been expanded upon and helped to alleviate comparisons to the "Men In Black" series, but it wasn't, and we're stuck with basically a MIB knockoff. Reynolds does okay, and Kevin Bacon plays a good bad guy, but unfortunately Jeff Bridges overacts and his old cowboy spew grows old pretty quick.

I was disappointed in "RIPD", but I don't consider it the total bomb many who've seen it do. There are some funny lines and situations, but the movie overall suffers from borrowing too heavily from "MIB" and a lackluster dialogue. Decent for a pleasant matinee perhaps, but little else.