R.I.P.D. - Dead or Alive?

R.I.P.D. is a film where it's not so much 'drunk and disorderly' as 'dead and disorderly'!

 

I saw the first 30 seconds or so of this movie, and I was hooked.  A massively obese creature comes smashing through a door accompanied by a voiceover by Ryan Reynolds, the star of the show.  Moments later a car crashes into Mr Reynolds (is that a bad thing?), leaving him unhurt and able to carry on chasing the strange behemoth.

 

Yes, I knew I wanted to watch it.  It was my sort of thing.  Humour, effects and weird creatures.  The creature, not Ryan Reynolds.

 

Did it continue to keep its claws in me?

 

Mostly.

 

The effects in this film were, on the whole, pretty good.  There were the odd points were the CGI was a bit too CGI but, mostly, they fitted well.  Kevin Bacon with a split open head was cool.  The acting... well, a bit over the top, but it's that sort of film.  The plot?  More of that in a mo.

 

The R.I.P.D. is the Rest In Peace Department.  They keep the Earth free of the scum of the Afterlife.  Yes, I'm paraphrasing one of my favourite movies, Men in Black.  With good reason.

 

R.I.P.D. is, basically, MIB with dead people.  But I liked that idea.  The funnel to Judgment.  The Steely Dan playing, just because (not unlike the lift muzak from MIB).  The way rookie and jaded cops appeared to us mortals.  Neat touches.  I did expect to see Rip Torn's Z welcoming Reynolds to the fold as he walked into their headquarters, at one point.

A couple of bits were explained whilst they were happening, which was somewhat off-putting, such as who the criminal Reynolds and Bacon were pursuing was and why.  Surely he didn't need to tell his colleagues over the radio?  No, he was telling us.  Similarly, when the gold is stolen (trying to keep any spoilers to a minimum here folks) - the device was explained as it was being used.  Just throw it in, eh?

 

But these things aside, R.I.P.D. entertained.  It was worth watching.  A different take on MIB.  It had some decent ideas mixed in with the action and effects and some of the 'been-done-before' set pieces.

 

I wish Jeff Bridges (this film's Tommy Lee Jones) would have taken the marbles out of his mouth, though.  It was sometimes difficult to understand what he was saying!

I've been thinking of giving films a rating in these reviews.  So here goes (catching up):

 

Oz - The Great and Powerful: 7/10

Star Trek Into Darkness: 8.5/10

Iron Man 3: 9/10

Olympus Has Fallen: 7/10

Pacific Rim: 8/10

The Wolverine (review not done yet): 8/10

Lone Ranger (again, review not done yet): 9/10

 

R.I.P.D: 8/10.  It was a good watch, for me.  Some things could have been done better and some had been done before, but I still enjoyed myself.  And that's what matters.