I've been watching movies all week, due to my newly born perfect baby boy. Some have been great, like "Star Trek: Into Darkness". Some have been dangerously comatose-worthy, like "Planes". Wouldn't hurt you to branch out and try a new idea Pixar. What's next, Boats? Trollies? Motorcycles? Ooh! I know! How about the new smash hit, "Segways". I think it will really speak to the kids. :-)
Alright, let's discuss...
R.I.P.D. (2013) PG-13 (Action/Comedy)
Starring Ryan Reynolds, Jeff Bridges, and Kevin Bacon
Overview - When a human dies, they face immanent judgement. But every so often someone finds a way to slip past the guards and make their way back to earth. Enter the R.I.P.D. (Rest In Peace Department). They hunt down any souls that have escaped judgement.
Review - If you were ever wondering what it would have been like if the Men In Black were to get sent to Heaven and hunt down souls instead of aliens, then look no further than the team of Ryan Reynolds and Jeff Bridges. To say this is any different from "Men In Black" would be to give it undue credit. It's like making chocolate chip cookies for the hundredth time and this time you decide to use white chocolate instead of milk chocolate.
I was looking forward to this one because Reynolds is amazing at witty add-lib banter. I was watching a behind-the-scenes video on the making of "Blade: Trinity". Wesley Snipes had pissed off the director, and the only reason he kept him in the rest of the movie was because he was under contract. There was a scene where Snipes and Reynolds are driving in a car and the original script had Snipes rambling on in tough-guy speak but, because of the pissing off, the director had Reynolds start add-libbing whatever came to his head and they ended up with over 25 minutes of footage to filter through. The director said he thought Reynolds was "...pure gold.". Needless to say I am always excited when Ryan's face graces the silver screen. If for no other reason then I know I will get some well-crafted giggles. Unfortunately he is more of the straight set-up guy in this one. Similar to Will Smith in the aforementioned "MIB". He has a few outbursts, and a few funny screams, but Bridges handles most of the "comedic relief". I put quotes around it because I feel like Bridges was given some space to add-lib and I don't feel like he came up with much that should have made it into the final cut. It's like having Babe Ruth in the rotation but you decide to bat the rookie, just because you feel like it. Bridges basically copied his character (Rooster Cogburn) from the 2010 masterpiece "True Grit". Though I loved the character in that film, I would rather see something different for what will pretty much wind up being hailed as "MIB: 4".
Mary Louise Parker plays the head of the R.I.P.D. She tries so hard to act that it's almost admirable. Almost the way that a child tries to invent a baked good out of mud. She has no idea how to act, but she gives it all she has. It almost makes you want to look past the fact that a water wheel would deliver a better performance. I don't know how she keeps getting work. They originally considered Jodie Foster for her role, but decided on Parker. Ever look at buying a tool, and after consideration you buy the cheapest tool? How well does it work? Right......Mary Louise Parker.
The CGI was passable, but the dialogue fell pretty flat. The funniest moments in the movie are random physical things that Bridges does. The writing team gave us nothing but nearly embarrassing films, such as "Wrath of the Titans" and "Aeon Flux". So I really shouldn't have had my hopes set too high for this one. It's got a few chuckles, but they're few and far between. There are also some major issues with trajectories and levels of violence. No spoilers: There's a scene where Reynolds dies and walks through a drug bust going down that has frozen in time. Showing gigantic explosions, gasoline flying all over, squad cars blown into the air, and pallets of drugs burning up. You don't think that would have been a fairly big "no-no" in the Police handbook? Or how about this one? In the previews we see Ryan get squished by a car barreling down the street at him. The car hits a multi-car pile-up over 2 blocks away and still manages to hit him. That means the car had to be going no less than 150 miles an hour down a inner city street. Umm......yea, no.
Overall I'll give this one a generous 2 out of 5. I won't buy it, but if it's on at a friend's house I won't walk out. If you like "Men In Black: 3" you'll enjoy this movie.
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