RIPD

Cast: Ryan Reynolds, Jeff Bridges, Mary-Louise Parker
Director: Robert Schwentke

Some time ago I was in some kind of a movie crossroad, and decided to catch RIPD at the last second. Considering that I knew it was a bomb, I wasn't expecting much. Needless to say, RIPD is a no-brainier movie that has every element that an action-comedy flick has, but lacks everything else to become a good movie. It became a mush of fast-paced, straight-forward flick that doesn't keep the audience intrigued, nor interested enough to find out something more.

Nick Walker was a dirty cop trying to go good when he told his partner that he wanted out, causing him his death. Instead of going to heaven or hell, he was sent to RIPD to serve a sentence. The department's job is basically to catch spirits disguised as people who escape and bring them back to prison. Walker is handed over to Roy Pulsifer, a RIPD cop who's been doing the job for ages. During his first run, Walker notices something that was seemingly familiar to his past, getting him and Pulsifer to investigate, leading further into finding out the plans to take over the world. As cop movies usually round up, it's up to them to save the world.

This has been linked to MIB, considering that they a similar premise. However, I think to compare this to MIB is an embarrassment to the latter. MIB was good, and interesting, and left me wanting to be one of them. RIPD wasn't any of that. It wasn't a bit interesting, and it made a rather dull flick. It did follow a standard formula but something about the entire production was off that it didn't have what it takes for the flick to succeed. Even the characters were dull themselves. While Reynolds seem to be the star, he has managed to fade in the background while Jeff Bridges, Kevin Bacon and the considerably weak performance of Mary-Louise Parker overtook him with their presence. Jeff Bridges turns out to be the most interesting character, and yet even his lines were a bit dull.  

While it has all the elements of an action-comedy-buddy flick combined, it lacked a certain punch to make it click. Granted some scenes were laughter-inducing, but it felt repetitive. They certainly didn't skimp on the action, and the CGI looked great in some parts, but it's not the kind of buddy flick that has you on the edge of your seat in excitement. It was predictable, and it certainly did not live up to the expectations it was trying to achieve. I know I didn't expect much, but I wasn't expecting to be that disappointed.