R.I.P.D - Movie Review

Who's in it? 

Ryan Reynolds, Jeff Bridges, Mary-Louise Parker 

What's it about? 

When Nick (Reynolds) is double crossed and murdered he finds himself on the other side and given a choice: rot in hell or join the R.I.P.D (Rest in Peace Department) to rid the world of evil souls (Deados) before they destroy the world as we know it. He chooses the latter, obvs. 

Any Good? 

When one of the main attractions of a movie publicly admits he's 'underwhelmed' with the finished result then it's difficult to go in expecting great things. Unfortunately for R.I.P.D I kinda agree with Jeff Bridges and left the cinema barely whelmed. 

While the CGI is passable, the entire premise of the film is such a blatant rip off of Men in Black, without the laughs and it just doesn't sit right with the audience. Bridges reprises his Rooster Cogburn, True Grit character to a tee as an old timey gunslinger and provides much of the movies gravitas. Reynolds and his overly exaggerated  am dram facial expressions will never sit well with me. As in every other Reynolds offering EVER, he plays Ryan Reynolds by a different name, the human chocolate bar that only he wants to eat. I'm not a fan. 

The veteran cop meeting the rookie with disdain - it's all SO FAMILIAR 

While RIPD is a satisfactory comic book film, the script just seems to fall flat. Don't get me wrong, there are laughs, just not where they're intended. The plot seems a little jumbled as we're expected to keep up with the rules and characters, which all occasionally lose the run of themselves. While I was left a little confused, I can see the mish mash begin perfectly acceptable to little 'uns that just want to see a big movie with some slapstick carry on shoved in. 

Roy and Nick to the naked eye

 With an overall loss of over $100 million, RIPD has been hailed as this years largest flop but there are redeeming moments. I'm not going to recommend you part with your hard earned euro bux for a date night or evening out seeing this but if you have smallies (over 7) in need of entertaining this weekend then this might just suit everyone concerned, if you can tolerate McCheese Reynolds that is. 

Rating: