Review of R.I.P.D. (2013) by Alexproductions — 06 Sep 2013

R.I.P.D. Ridiculous. Idiots. Producing. Dreadful. Films. I went into R.I.P.D. (Rest in Peace Department) expecting to truly enjoy the movie being a teen and all. I figured that the adults “over thought” and “misunderstood” Robert Schwentke’s “true meaning” for the film. Being the director of the original Red, he couldn’t mess it up right? Wrong. R.I.P.D. features Ryan Reynolds as Nick Walker, A cop killed by his own partner Hayes (Kevin Bacon) who he worked with for five years. After time being stopped and his body rising into the office of Proctor (Mary-Louise Parker) Nick is offered the choice of a job at R.I.P.D. or to face judgment. He quickly takes the job to reconvene with his wife and go back to earth until he meets his new partner Roy Pulsipher (Jeff Bridges).

On earth, people see Nick as an old Chinese man (James Hong), and Roy, a young lady (Marisa Miller). Nick and Roy are issued to catch monsters who have managed to reappear on earth. Their job is to send them back to the R.I.P.D. prison, where they will stay for the rest of their lives. As Hayes has a plan to bring all the deceased back to earth, it becomes Nick and Roy's job to stop it and save earth. The movie really never made it clear whether it was attempting to be a comedy, action movie, or something completely different.

Barely reaching 90 minutes, R.I.P.D. is quickly earning itself “Worst Movie of 2013” which I completely agree with. Jeff Bridges is receiving publicity for all the wrong reasons. Ryan Reynolds did not deliver and his acting was not very good…at all. His role could have been played by anyone from Josh Peck to Liam Hemsworth. The idea was not original either. We have already seen the same concept and character layout in Men in Black (who actually did it right). The film had the tired older man with the Texas accent, and his younger partner. I was quite surprised that the audience seemed to actually enjoy this movie! From the cheesy humor, to the unrealistic fight scenes, they were both laughing, and clapping during this film.

The term “A 96 minute episode of Scooby Doo” has also been thrown around about this film. Mr. Bridges had much more potential and I feel the script was written sloppily and quick. It seems Universal Pictures took the lazy way out on this one and I think it really showed in both the films performance in the box office (36 Million), and on the screen.

I think Reynolds should stick to the voice of Turbo racking in 70 mil instead of these low ball summer disasters. If you still want to see R.I.P.D. after reading this review, I think it is smart to borrow it from a friend who made the mistake of buying it on DVD. I will definitely be recommending this movie to someone I don’t like, but no one I actually care about.