R.I.P.D.
3/4
Starring: Ryan Reynolds, Jeff Bridges, Kevin Bacon, Stephanie Szostack, Mary-Louise Parker
Rated PG-13 for Violence, Sci-Fi/Fantast Action, Some Sensuality and Language including Sex References
Call it the guilty pleasure of 2013. It moves way too fast. There are some big plotholes. Half of Jeff Bridges dialogue is unintelligible. But, I had fun and I enjoyed myself.
Nick (Reynolds) is a cop in the DC police department. He and his partner Hayes (Bacon) have taken some gold that they found on a bust and kept it for themselves. But Nick's conscience gets the best of him and decides to turn in his part while telling Hayes that he can do what he wants. For this, Hayes betrays him on a bust and kills him (never has an attempt to get a PG-13 been more obvious than in this scene). Nick is thusly zoomed up into the afterlife, and the person he meets there (a dryly funny Parker) gives him two options: risk Judgement (lying is a very bad idea) or join the Rest In Peace Department for a term of 100 years. Nick chooses the latter. He's paired up with a lawman from the Old West named Roy (Bridges), who of course, doesn't want a partner. They're task is to find and take down Deados, recently deceased who have escaped judgement. But Nick is interested in doing some actual police work, and he and Roy end up on the trail of a machine that could bring about the apocalypse.
People have been making the connection between "R.I.P.D." and "Men in Black." It's an apt comparison. The premise is more of less the same, and it feels like a "Men in Black" movie. While Reynolds and Bridges don't have quite the same chemistry as Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones, they work well enough together.
The supporting cast is also solid. Kevin Bacon is as slimy as ever (considering how silly this movie is, he probably could have had more fun with the role). Stephanie Szostack is certainly sweet and has great chemistry with Reynolds. More scenes with them together could have made the love story aspect of the movie more potent. And Mary-Louise Parker has some dry one-liners.
Director Robert Schwentke's resume doesn't give a vote of confidence in his abilities. "Flightplan" was a thriller with a solid script but limp direction. "Red" (also starring Parker) was what "The Office" would have been like if it were an action movie. But the man does solid work here. It's fun, breathless and energetic. I just wish there had been more. "Men in Black" worked because Barry Sonnenfeld gave the story room to breathe. Schwentke doesn't do that. It moves so lightning fast that neither we nor Nick have time to really soak in what is happening. Here's to hoping that there's an extended version on Blu Ray.
Starring: Ryan Reynolds, Jeff Bridges, Kevin Bacon, Stephanie Szostack, Mary-Louise Parker
Rated PG-13 for Violence, Sci-Fi/Fantast Action, Some Sensuality and Language including Sex References
Call it the guilty pleasure of 2013. It moves way too fast. There are some big plotholes. Half of Jeff Bridges dialogue is unintelligible. But, I had fun and I enjoyed myself.
Nick (Reynolds) is a cop in the DC police department. He and his partner Hayes (Bacon) have taken some gold that they found on a bust and kept it for themselves. But Nick's conscience gets the best of him and decides to turn in his part while telling Hayes that he can do what he wants. For this, Hayes betrays him on a bust and kills him (never has an attempt to get a PG-13 been more obvious than in this scene). Nick is thusly zoomed up into the afterlife, and the person he meets there (a dryly funny Parker) gives him two options: risk Judgement (lying is a very bad idea) or join the Rest In Peace Department for a term of 100 years. Nick chooses the latter. He's paired up with a lawman from the Old West named Roy (Bridges), who of course, doesn't want a partner. They're task is to find and take down Deados, recently deceased who have escaped judgement. But Nick is interested in doing some actual police work, and he and Roy end up on the trail of a machine that could bring about the apocalypse.
People have been making the connection between "R.I.P.D." and "Men in Black." It's an apt comparison. The premise is more of less the same, and it feels like a "Men in Black" movie. While Reynolds and Bridges don't have quite the same chemistry as Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones, they work well enough together.
The supporting cast is also solid. Kevin Bacon is as slimy as ever (considering how silly this movie is, he probably could have had more fun with the role). Stephanie Szostack is certainly sweet and has great chemistry with Reynolds. More scenes with them together could have made the love story aspect of the movie more potent. And Mary-Louise Parker has some dry one-liners.
Director Robert Schwentke's resume doesn't give a vote of confidence in his abilities. "Flightplan" was a thriller with a solid script but limp direction. "Red" (also starring Parker) was what "The Office" would have been like if it were an action movie. But the man does solid work here. It's fun, breathless and energetic. I just wish there had been more. "Men in Black" worked because Barry Sonnenfeld gave the story room to breathe. Schwentke doesn't do that. It moves so lightning fast that neither we nor Nick have time to really soak in what is happening. Here's to hoping that there's an extended version on Blu Ray.
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