R.I.P.D. - D

Rated PG-13, 96 minutes

Messy, unfunny "R.I.P.D." is cinematic purgatory

Ryan Reynolds

Yes, it's true. It's as bad as it looks. The big-budgeted, expensive new high-concept comic book adaptation comedy "R.I.P.D." is an apt name, in that it rips off many other films, including "Men in Black," "Ghostbusters" with a little bit of Ricky Gervais' "The Invention of Lying" thrown in for good measure. After Boston detective Nick Walker (Ryan Reynolds) is killed by accident, he is recruited into the R.I.P.D. (short for Rest In Peace Department) and partnered with veteran officer Roy Pulsipher (Jeff Bridges), a lawman from the Old West. The R.I.P.D. is an organization of dead police officers tasked with protecting the living from arrogant, malevolent, bloodthirsty evil spirits who refuse to move into the afterlife. Essentially, "R.I.P.D.," which is based on a comic book called "Rest in Peace Department," is movie purgatory and a mess of a comedy that likely had some potential early on and went South quickly in post-production. Interestingly, it's directed by Robert Schwentke, who directed the original "RED" (2010), whose sequel "RED 2" opens today as well, though he may not want to take credit for this. "R.I.P.D." also features one of his "RED" actors, Mary-Louise Parker (who is also in "RED 2"), one of the few bright spots about this dark, muddled film, which has the lead characters return to Earth as alternate avatars to protect human beings from destruction (yeah, like I said, very confusing). Bridges tries to humorously riff his "True Grit" character Rooster Cogburn, but he ends up excessively annoying in a take-the-money-and-run part, which is saying something given that Ryan Reynolds is his partner, who plays a character similar to ones he plays in most of his movies: bland and lifeless (poor guy, he doesn't seem to be having any fun here, ditto for villain Kevin Bacon). Outside of Parker, there are plenty of energetic special effects and visuals, which are fun but still remind too much of "MIB." Thankfully, it's only 90 minutes, which go by quickly but also feel much longer than the afterlife. "R.I.P.D.," which is somehow being marketed to the younger set, may have some afterlife on DVD or VOD, where it could become one of those "so bad it's good" cult classics. Right now though, this sniffs of something worse in cinematic terms: a flop. Do what's best: skip it.

Wes's Grade: D