R.I.P.D. (D)

Bottom Line: This supernatural, beyond-the-grave, buddy cop, action comedy is nothing more than a blatant rip-off of MEN IN BLACK and GHOSTBUSTERS – minus some of the fun, most of the charm and all of the wit.  The only memorable and relatively entertaining piece of this ordinarily dull cinematic puzzle is Jeff Bridges’ turn as a cantankerous, old west sheriff.  That’s where you’ll get your laughs…  The rest of the movie spastically plays out like an overblown, under-written explosively uninteresting mess.  Clocking in at just over 90 minutes it’s both short enough to make a quick exit once the credits roll and long enough to make you think that burning your ten dollars worth of ticket money might have proven more entertaining.  It’s not the worst movie of the year – but you can tell it’s trying pretty hard to secure that moniker at almost every turn.  The poster says RIPD stands for REST IN PEACE DEPARTMENT – but in an effort to better serve you the moviegoer, you’re better off remembering RENT IT PLEASE if you DARE.

 

Starring: Jeff Bridges, Ryan Reynolds, Mary-Louise Parker and Kevin Bacon

Directed by: Robert Schwentke (RED, FLIGHTPLAN and THE TIME TRAVELER’S WIFE)

Rated: PG-13

Running time: 96 minutes

Story: Jeff Bridges and Ryan Reynolds headline the 3D supernatural action-adventure R.I.P.D. as two cops dispatched by the otherworldly Rest In Peace Department to protect and serve the living from an increasingly destructive array of souls who refuse to move peacefully to the other side. Veteran sheriff Roy Pulsifer (Bridges) has spent his career with the legendary police force known as R.I.P.D. tracking monstrous spirits who are cleverly disguised as ordinary people. His mission? To arrest and bring to justice a special brand of criminals trying to escape final judgment by hiding among the unsuspecting on Earth. Once the wise-cracking Roy is assigned former rising-star detective Nick Walker (Reynolds) as his junior officer, the new partners have to turn grudging respect into top-notch teamwork. When they uncover a plot that could end life as we know it, two of R.I.P.D.'s finest must miraculously restore the cosmic balance...or watch the tunnel to the afterlife begin sending angry souls the very wrong way. (c) Universal

 

Trailer: www.ripd.com