R.I.P.D. - Agentes do Além

"You gonna sit there and mope or do you want to help me stop the, you know, an apocalypse?" After things go very very wrong while out on a bust Boston PD officer Nick (Reynolds) is killed but before he heads to his judgement he is swept into an office and offered a new job. He is now a member of the R.I.P.D. and along with his new partner Roy (Bridges) they set out to capture the Dead-O's that roam free. When Nick finds a connection between the Dead-O's and his death things turn personal. I have to start off by saying that I wasn't really expecting this to be good at all. I'm not sure why but when I say the preview I immediately expected another Men In Black and didn't think it was needed. While I won't say this wasn't Men In Black like, it was much better then I expected and did laugh and was entertained most of the way through. This is very much geared toward a young teen crowd but I still found it funny. I do have to say though that without Reynolds and Bridges this may have been unwatchable. I did like it and am glad I saw it but this isn't something I'd watch again, but keep in mind I expected this to be as bad as all the reviews it got. A combination of Men In Black with a dash of Howard The Duck thrown in. Watchable but really only once. Overall, not even close to as bad as the reviews made it seem, watch it and make up your own mind. I give it a B.

The first act of the movie with the discovery of cop's new life is fun and brings great moments between Reynolds and Bridges. The rest of the movie is more than average with poor special effects and a predictable story.

Yes, it's formulaic in some areas. As a writer, I could see several of the plot elements more or less from the beginning. But this movie isn't intended to be complex, or at an "Avenger" level in terms of characterization. It's just plain good summer fun, with an interesting cast and a lot of laughs. Jeff Bridges is priceless, and he & Ryan Reynolds work well together. Ryan, with his trademark choirboy looks and deadpan delivery, is definitely watchable. Mary Louise Parker, with a scarily perky character who gets to chew the scenery with a load of offbeat lines, is wonderful as the Proctor.

Some reviewers seem to insist on portraying the film as a poor man's ripoff of Men In Black, or Ghostbusters. It's neither. It's just a fun, wisecracking film based on a well known genre comic from independent publisher Dark Horse. Go, have some popcorn, laugh a lot, and enjoy the summer.

'R.I.P.D.': Three and a Half Stars (Out of Five)

One of the summer's biggest expensive casualties is this Dark Horse comic adaptation starring Ryan Reynolds and Jeff Bridges as two police officers in the after life fighting undead ghouls. It was directed by Robert Schwentke (who also directed the action films 'RED' and 'FLIGHPLAN') and written by Phil Hay, Matt Manfredi and David Dobkin. Peter M. Lenkov created the comic book it's based on and also executive produced the film. The film also co-stars Kevin Bacon, Mary-Louise Parker, Stephanie Szostak, Marisa Miller and James Hong. Oddly both Reynolds and Parker had two big films opening the same weekend (Reynolds also can be heard in the animated family film 'TURBO' and Parker reprised her role in the sequel to Schwentke's 'RED'). All three films bombed and Reynolds now has a pretty big reputation for constantly delivering box office misfires. That doesn't mean they're bad films though and I actually enjoyed 'R.I.P.D.' to a certain degree (definitely not an especially good movie though).

The film opens with a Boston cop named Nick Walker (Reynolds), having a dispute with his partner, Bobby Hayes (Bacon), over whether or not to turn in gold they found at a recent drug bust. Walker is shot and killed by Hayes during a shootout and is recruited by the R.I.P.D. (Rest In Peace Department) in the afterlife. The R.I.P.D. specializes in catching 'deados', which are souls who have refused to leave the land of the living. Walker is teamed with an old U.S. Marshal from the Old West, named Roy Pulsipher (Bridges), while he attempts to track down his old partner and clear his reputation with the love of his life, Julia Walker (Szostak).

The biggest complaint I've heard about the trailer for the film is how much it resembles the film 'MEN IN BLACK' and I have to say, after seeing the film as well, that it very much resembles a 'MEN IN BLACK' movie. It's of course not nearly as good as that campy sci-fi classic but it is better than it's first sequel (arguably 'MEN IN BLACK 3' as well). The fact is the movie is not nearly as bad as a lot of people like to say it is. It's a lot of fun, funny at times and the visuals are spectacular. It had a budget of approximately $130 million and as a purely visual treat it paid off; as far as the special effects go, plus the women are all super hot (Szostak and Miller are breathtaking in the flick). Watching Reynolds and Bridges together (as an odd couple duo) is a treat as well and it's funny to see Reynolds being mostly the straight man while Bridges mostly hams it up (Bacon is also once again a great despicable villain). Not a great film by any means but not a bad one either.

Watch our movie review show 'MOVIE TALK' at: https://youtu.be/NdWU81GeyN4

The movie basically follows the three act formula, and although the crusty veteran and out of element rookie has been done before I enjoyed Jeff Bridges and Ryan Reynolds on the screen together. There is plenty action and a fair amount of comedy. there were some plot holes and the ending left a few unanswered questions. Even with these flaws my wife and I both feel like there are many worse ways to spend a few bucks on a hot afternoon. This is not a blockbuster or a classic movie, I would classify it as a good popcorn flick. Contrary to many other opinions here we both recommend this as a watchable movie, as long as your expectations are reasonable.