Review of R.I.P.D. (2013) by Ashli H — 30 Jun 2014

'Knock off Tim Burton does Men in Black' is the best description for what might have passed in the 80's and early 90's but has next to no sparkle 25 years too late. They also seem to have borrowed from Blade, Indiana Jones, Constantine and Transformers somewhere along the way too.

Acting and characterisation too zany and slapstick to be anything more than goofy caricatures, action ends up looking like something left over from Who Framed Roger Rabbit, making it stuck somewhere just beyond a rejected kids film - makes me worried for Ghostbusters 3.

Mary Louise Parker - who I love - is completely wasted and left straddled with a lifeless (no pun intended), vacant and flat dolly bird dominatrix, drained of the sass of her previous performances. Jeff bridges could have done with subtitles for much of the film and Ryan Reynolds does his usual doe-eyed smarmy cheese routine minus the shirtless scenes that normally get him through his countless man-child roles.

Kevin Bacon?! Is the Following not paying him enough?? Gave it a generous 2 because it didn't quite engage the cringe gland, but was right on the edge there. The relatively restrained run time worked in its favour too - if it been much more over 1.

5 hrs, it would've been harder going and less stars. Overall watchable. Just. And only once.