Now that the Fast & Furious is nearing the end of the road, Universal is desperately
searching for a big money making franchise. Other studios have had massive
success with comic book adaptations, but with Marvel and DC locked up by Disney
and Warner Brothers that leaves lesser known properties from independent
publishers. That's not necessarily a bad thing. An obscure black & white
comic titled Men in Black was turned
into a billion dollar franchise with movies, an animated series, and tons of
toys. Universal obviously had visions of dollar signs dancing in their heads
when they snatched up the rights to the similarly themed, R.I.P.D., published by Dark Horse. Both comics are about a
clandestine agency charged with protecting the Earth from otherworldly forces.
In MIB, they're aliens. In RIPD, they're "Deados," fugitive
spirits who have refused to pass into the great beyond. That's where the
resemblances end as MIB is leaps and
bounds beyond RIPD when it comes to
originality.
Boston detective Nick Walker (Ryan Reynolds) is uneasy about
pocketing the gold he and his partner, Bobby Hayes (Kevin Bacon), have just
found at a recent drug bust. Rather than see the gold taken into evidence,
Hayes kills Walker during a raid. Due to his one moment of weakness, Walker is
drafted into the Rest in Peace Department, which consists of the greatest
lawmen who ever lived. Walker must serve his time with RIPD or take his chances
with the higher powers. He is paired with Roy Pulsipher (Jeff Bridges), an
ornery gunslinger from the Wild West, and uncovers a conspiracy to build a
weapon that will unleash the dead into the world of the living.
The screenplay by Phil Hay and Matt Manfredi (Clash of the Titans) with a story credit
by David Dobkin (who was previously attached to direct) is shamelessly derivative.
RIPD clearly attempts to follow in
the footsteps of MIB and Ghostbusters while borrowing also from Beetlejuice in its depictions of a
bureaucratic afterlife. However, none of these ideas are ever fully realized. In
a running gag, Walker and Pulsipher have cover identities while on Earth.
Everyone around them sees only an old Asian guy (James Hong) and a smoking hot
model (Marisa Miller). The filmmakers get a little mileage out of the joke with
Bridges fending off advances from horndogs and Walker attempts to contact his
wife (Stephanie Szostak) in a pair of scenes with half-hearted poignancy.
However, the bit is quickly cast aside for a series of mind numbing car chases
and explosions. Despite a budget of $130 million, the special effects are
horrendous with Deados rendered as murky, lumbering blobs. The 1997 effects of MIB are far superior to the lackluster
efforts here.
Ironically, RIPD
opened opposite another comic book movie, Red
2, and was directed by Robert Schwentke, who helmed the first Red. While Schwentke doesn't have a
masterful command of action, he did maintain an energetic tone in Red that is completely missing from RIPD. The fact that the characters are
already dead and suffer no ill effects from being thrown off a roof or hit by a
bus means there is never any sense of danger or suspense.
RIPD's one saving
grace is Jeff Bridges, who essentially reprises his role of Rooster Cogburn
with the addition of a Colonel Sanders goatee. Bridges plays it to the hilt and
has some fun scenes opposite Mary-Louise Parker, who brings her own spin to the
tightly wound precinct captain. There's also a welcome twist on the usual buddy
cop formula with Walker's fresh-faced rookie as the straight-laced one of the
pair and Bridges' wily veteran as the loose cannon. Also, kudos go to Kevin
Bacon's agent for keeping his client's presence such a secret. Bacon is surely
thankful.
RIPD died almost
as quickly as its protagonist and continued to beat on a dead horse for another
ninety minutes.
Rating: * (*****)
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