Released: July 17, 2013 (Iceland)
Directed by: Robert Schwentke
Written by: Phil Hay & Matt Manfredi (screenplay), based on a story by David Dobkin, Phil Hay & Matt Manfredi, based on the Dark Horse comic created by Peter M. Lenkov
Starring: Jeff Bridges, Ryan Reynolds & Kevin Bacon
Plot: A cop killed by his partner joins the ranks of the Rest in Peace Department, an undead police force tasked with tracking down escaped souls.
IMDb: 5.6/10Rotten Tomatoes: 13/100
My Score: 2/5
WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD
R.I.P.D. is an effects heavy 2013 adaption of a Dark Horse comic book series of the same name. Nick (Ryan Reynolds) is not so much a dirty cop as he his a guy just trying to give his bride some piece of mind and a guarantee of future security. When he gets squeamish over taking some undocumented gold after a bust and decides to back out, his partner Hayes (Kevin Bacon) kills him. Instead of heading off to Hell, Nick's soul is intercepted by the Rest in Peace Department and he is given a choice: work for the R.I.P.D. and maybe be able to get to Heaven, or take the express route down. Nick is saddled with former wild west sheriff Roy (Jeff Bridges) and they stumble across a conspiracy concerning the gold at the heart of Nick's murder. Like many movies who focus on effects rather than coherent story, R.I.P.D. is a mess of shallow characters and whose plot doesn't make a whole lot of sense. There are some inspired moments, though. R.I.P.D. officers have avatars when working the streets of the living so as not to be recognized in any way by those they may have left behind. Nick is seen as an old Chinese man (James Hong) and Roy as a gorgeous blonde (Victoria's Secret model Marisa Miller) who is continually hit on by men. Instead of a gun, living people see Nick's avatar wielding a banana. Unfortunately, these high points are few and far between. Bridges as the out-of-time-and-place lawman Roy seemed forced and a caricature instead of a character. Bacon comes across as flat and the normally reliable Reynolds has very little to work with. I cringed when Nick told Roy he hoped the coyote who had made love to Roy's skull after he died had gotten both eye sockets. Who thinks this is funny? And if the gold that Nick and Hayes split was to be used to build a machine to close the soul portal and allow all the dead souls to stay on Earth, why did Hayes allow Nick to take any of it to begin with? It doesn't matter 'cause look at all the weird looking dead people and the whirly killer vortexes that appear for no reason and disappear just as suddenly. Don't they look cool? Mary-Louise Parker co-stars as Proctor, Nick and Roy's boss who was once romantically involved with Roy. Their antagonist relationship goes from tiresome "chief-yells-at-hero-cop-for-not-following-the-rules" to downright creepy in the final scene. Stephanie Szostak adds some heart as Nick's pretty wife struggling with her husband's death but the uneven script leaves the big emotional scenes feeling contrived. Not much here to recommend repeat viewings. Director Robert Schwentke has directed another comic book adaption, RED starring Bruce Willis and Parker, and has been given the reigns of the Divergent series, directing the sequels Insurgent and the upcoming (as of this writing) Allegiant: Part 1. Writing partners Phil Hay and Matt Manfredi penned the live-action adaptation of Aeon Flux and the remake of Clash of the Titans. David Dobkin directed the Owen Wilson/Vince Vaughn vehicle Wedding Crashers and The Judge starring Robert Downey, Jr. and Robert Duvall, who was nominated for an Oscar for his role. Peter M. Lenkov developed the Hawaii Five-0 TV reboot with Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci and co-wrote Demolition Man starring Sylvester Stallone and Wesley Snipes.
No comments:
Post a Comment