Movie Review: R.I.P.D

R.I.P.D. (3D)
Action, Comedy [PG13]
Directed by Robert Schwentke
Starring Jeff Bridges, Ryan Reynolds, Kevin Bacon, Mary-Louise Parker
 
3 out of 5 stars

By Eunice Lim

 There is work after death — at least for dead detectives in R.I.P.D., the Rest In Peace Department.

Comedy ensues when Nick Walker (Ryan Reynolds) is forced to partner a dead cowboy Roy Pulsipher (Jeff Bridges) to capture malicious dead spirits, or deados.

R.I.P.D. revolves around Walker, a young detective who dies during a shootout and is recruited into the supernatural police force to work alongside a crude and unapologetic cowboy.

As part of the job, the pair can’t appear to the living as their real selves, and have been issued avatars for disguise. A hilarious switcheroo from their original selves, Pulsipher takes on the appearance of a gorgeous blonde woman, while Walker takes on the appearance of a scrawny, elderly Chinese man.

The disparity between their appearances to others and their actual looks is repeatedly emphasised throughout the movie and amuses whenever it does so.

In one particularly funny scene, Walker chases down a rampant deado. However, to the living, he appears as an old Chinese man who’s brandishing not a gun, but a banana.

Other than humour, the movie also offers delightful visuals in 3D. Elaborate and well-composed freeze-frames, and a battle scene between the deados and the R.I.P.D. unfolds neatly in slow-motion — R.I.P.D. puts 3D effects to good use in these instances to enhance a viewer’s visual experience.

But as part of the main cast, Reynolds (Green Lantern) fails to stand out due to his mediocre acting. Working alongside Bridges, who brims with attitude as a 19th century cowboy, Reynolds is inevitably upstaged.

The movie might also remind viewers of the Men In Black series like the familiar flushing of the toilet as a form of teleportation.

Perhaps in an attempt to play it safe, the cast also appears to be conveniently borrowed from their roles in other films. Bridges plays a similar role of an obnoxious cowboy from True Grit (2010), while Mary-Louise Parker who plays Proctor, the spunky director of R.I.P.D., reminiscent of the character Sarah Ross from Red (2010).

Unfortunately, this combination of elements and characters from previously successful films into a single smorgasbord of entertainment makes R.I.P.D. predictable, particularly when viewers are likely to have seen them before.

While R.I.P.D. is less of an action film, the movie’s tongue-in-cheek goofiness is effective comedy for those who are just looking for a good (albeit forgettable) laugh.