R.I.P.D. DVD (2013)

SYNOPSIS: Jeff Bridges and Ryan Reynolds star as 2 cops working for the Rest In Peace Department (RIPD), the greatest police force ever assembled from the spirit of the greatest cops that ever lived. Their job – protecting the living from monstrous spirits cleverly disguised as ordinary people. Wise-cracking Sheriff Roy Pulsifer (Bridges) is a veteran of the RIPD. He is assigned Nick Walker (Reynolds) a rising star detective killed in his prime. The unlikely partners uncover a plot that could end life as we know it and have to work together before the earth is overcome by angry souls unwilling to face justice.

MOVIE REVIEW:

Ryan Reynolds might be one of the hottest stars in Tinseltown right now but he just doesn’t have the star power to draw in the audience. Just to name a few of his mishaps, his outing as superhero Green Lantern tanked at the box-office and his voice for a racing snail called Turbo bombed as well.  

Yet despite his prolific onscreen appearances, his bad streak continues in this fantasy action piece based on a Dark Horse comic, R.I.P.D.

Reynolds plays Boston cop Nick Walker who is slain by his partner, Bobby Hayes (Kevin Bacon) while on a raid. His soul is then transported to the Rest In Peace Department where Nick is recruited by Proctor (Mary-Louise Parker) as a law enforcer in the afterlife to capture escaped spirits and monsters dubbed the Deados. Partnered with Roy Pulsipher (Jeff Bridges), an ex-Sheriff from the Western era, the duo goes on to unravel a far sinister, demonic scheme and that includes the true form of Nick’s killer, Bobby.   

There are many who claim R.I.P.D. is a cheap ripoff of Men In Black and I can see why. The latter has two agents hunting down monsters/aliens while the former has two dead agents hunting down monsters/ghosts/demons. Not much of a difference isn’t it? But still as a supernatural action comedy, R.I.P.D. delivers in terms of entertainment despite the many familiarities. Did I mention the slim 96 minutes running time does help?   

There’s no doubt the movie is filled to the brim with visual effects courtesy of award-winning effects house, Rhythm and Hues. The many shootouts, foot chases and climatic end is overall visually engaging though unlikely to impress the general audience who till this point already numbed by the numerous forgettable pixel-created monsters and backdrops. It’s Jeff Bridges who stole the show with his spot-on, deadpan humour in the end, the veteran actor has a far more charismatic presence opposite the good looking, predictable Reynolds unfortunately.  

Director Robert Schwentke who did Red falters with the limitation of the material onhand. The transcending between humour and drama on the whole is uneven and what’s left is some slapstick humour that works for example the funny introduction of Nick and Roy’s respective avatars in the eyes of the living. R.I.P.D. is not exactly a hot mess as what many coined it to be. It’s merely an uninspiring piece of work that require more rewrite and perhaps a change of leading man might just turn it’s luck around. 

SPECIAL FEATURES:

NIL

AUDIO/VISUAL:

Colours and images look great on DVD while the soundfield is immersive and pure action oriented.

MOVIE RATING:

DVD RATING :

Review by Linus Tee