Remember ‘Men in Black’? Well after the first movie (released in 1997) made a zillion dollars, it spawned two more zillion dollar sequels. It was funny, smart, a fresh spin on an old tale, and the on-screen partnership between its stars was pure movie magic. 16 years later, someone has tried to make lightening strike twice - only this time, they’ve replaced aliens with dead people and Smith and Jones with Reynolds and Bridges. The ‘Men in Black’ franchise brought happiness and laughs to millions as they secretly (and not so secretly) wished they too had a neutraliser. The new partnership, ‘R.I.P.D.’, is lucky if its audience doesn’t rush the box-office demanding their money back after 15 minutes.
SWITCH: R.I.P.D. - TRAILER
Ironically, what ‘R.I.P.D.’ is missing is soul. What seems like several failed screenplays picked apart and smashed together is boring, painfully unoriginal, unfunny and lacks action, despite the film begging for a good car chase or fight sequence. Reynolds and Bridges may as well have shot their scenes separately, because that’s exactly what it looks like. Reynolds walks through the entire movie, while Bridges hams it up and tries (a little too hard) to milk some laughs out of his over-the-top wild west character Roy. Every attempt at, well, anything really, is met with a yawn and yet another uncomfortable shift in your seat. And oh yeah, did anyone else even know Kevin Bacon was in this before they saw it?
Despite the list of talent in ‘R.I.P.D.’s credits, this one can definitely be missed, and can hopefully be laid to rest.