R.I.P.D. is such a blatant clone of the original Men In Black film that it might as well have been titled R.I.P.D. Off. Same buddy-cop template, similar story beats — just substitute souls of dead people squatting on Earth instead of moving on to the afterlife for illegal and/or malevolent aliens and you’ve pretty much got the same film, except not nearly as engaging or innovative.
See if this sounds familiar: a hotshot cop (this time played by Ryan Reynolds) suddenly finds himself way in over his head when he’s recruited into an agency no one’s ever heard of, partnered with a grizzled veteran agent (Jeff Bridges) who’s tasked by the tough as nails chief (Mary-Louise Parker) with showing the “rook” the ropes, and sent back out into the world to have his eyes opened to the existence of beings he was and the rest of the world continues to be entirely unaware of. Once there, the reluctant partners get wind of a plot that will destroy all living beings on the planet, and they’re forced to put aside their differences in order to save the world.
Oh, sure, the finer points are a little different. Aside from the aforementioned souls-for-aliens switch, the young turk gets recruited because he gets killed in the line of duty, rather than because his skills catch the eye of his future mentor. And the cantankerous older partner here really has no interest in having a partner at all, much less schooling a rookie in what it takes to send “deados,” as they’re called, on to whatever awaits them in the hereafter. He talks a whole lot more than Tommy Lee Jones’ K ever did, and that’s not always a good thing.
And yes, Mary-Louise Parker in a pleated skirt and knee-high socks is much easier on the eyes than Rip Torn ever was or ever will be.
But those minor differences pale in comparison to the long list of similarities you’re likely to observe between R.I.P.D. and Barry Sonnenfeld’s blockbuster sci-fi action comedy that cemented Will Smith’s status as the king of July 4th weekend openings in the summer of 1997. Even their running times are almost identical – MiB runs a scant two minutes longer.
You might be able to forgive all those similarities if the film was laugh-out loud funny or affecting in any way, but sadly, everyone involved here seems to be falling back on old routines and well-worn characterizations. How many times is Ryan Reynolds (who did double duty as an executive producer here) going to play the hotshot, quick-witted, know-it-all hero, or better yet just avoid the comic book adaptation genre entirely, before he tries his hand at something else? (For those keeping count, this makes a fourth comic book cinematic dud for Reynolds, counting his supporting turn in the forgettable Blade: Trinity, his fan-abhorred turn as Wade Wilson/Deadpool in X-Men Origins: Wolverine, and the greatest offense of all, the critical and commercial bomb that was Green Lantern.) How often is Jeff Bridges going to take on roles as the flinty, so-abrasive-its-sorta-charming gunslinger? It worked well for him in True Grit, but take a look back at 1995′s Wild Bill and you’ll see this is more or less a re-cycyled schtick. He’s a little more tolerable than Reynolds just because he looks like he’s having more fun here, and his antics will garner the occasional chuckle, but it’s still a phoned-in outing from an actor who’s capable of so much more.
The one thing the film has in its favor is that its well-paced and doesn’t drag. Director Robert Schwentke once again shows his talent for efficient storytelling by keeping things moving briskly along. There’s no sense of scenes just filling the space between action set pieces or providing actors opportunities to chew scenery — everything that unfolds on screen needs to be there in order for the screen story to be coherent. His storytelling talents and sense for efficient pacing might have been better served had he directed the sequel to his last hit, RED, which oddly enough R.I.P.D. finds itself squaring off against at the box office this weekend. RED 2 is a better film by far than R.I.P.D., but it does lack the tight pacing and zip that is R.I.P.D.‘s only virtue.
Bottom line: R.I.P.D. is D.O.A. in terms of what you get on-screen in every measurable way. Pick up the graphic novels from Dark Horse Entertainment from which it was adapted, instead. They might cost more than a ticket to the movie, but you’ve got a much better chance of getting your money’s worth.
Score: 2.5 out of 5
R.I.P.D.
Starring Jeff Bridges, Ryan Reynolds, Kevin Bacon, Mary-Louise Parker, Stephanie Szostak, Robert Knepper. Directed by Robert Schwentke.
Running Time: 96 minutes
Rated PG-13 for violence, sci-fi/fantasy action, some sensuality, and language including sex references.
