Stars Jeff Bridges, Ryan Reynolds, Mary-Louise Parker, Kevin Bacon, Stephanie Szostak with Robert Knepper, Marisa Miller and James Hong Directed by Robert Schwentke While RED 2 is still playing in the cinemas, the director of RED, Robert Schwentke, delivers another comic book action flick in RIPD (which stands for Rest In Peace Department). Based on the Dark Horse comic by Peter Lenkov, the titular department is peopled by select cops who have died in the line of duty over the years (decades? centuries?) whose job is to track down wayward souls who simply refuse to stay in the realm of the dead. It's not unlike in concept to Men In Black actually, just replace aliens with deados. We've even got the newcomer paired up with the seasoned veteran of the force. The newcomer to the force being Nick Walker (Ryan Reynolds) and the veteran is Roicephus "Roy" Pulispher (Jeff Bridges) who are thrown together by the Proctor (Mary Louise Parker, who's also in RED 2). While on a routine 'contain and capture', they stumble onto a plot that would have world devastating effect. The plot is streamlined and the movie delivers on the action with light-hearted moments. If you've seen the trailer, you'd automatically notice a lot of stuff that was there that isn't in the movie. Maybe there was stuff shot for the trailer only, but the fairly blistering pace of the movie might suggest a rather straight-forward approach to the plot and story rather than simply padding things out. The end result? It's a romp (again) that does it all in just over 90 minutes. Not too shabby. Like with RED 2, this one is here to entertain, albeit with a supernatural bent gift wrapped in a typical cop thriller. The creature effects by Rhythm and Hues are actually quite impressive. The design of the RIPD's filing room (we see it first as Nick is heading into the department proper) is remindful of the one in Brazil (the Terry Gilliam film, not the country). And, of course, there's the chaos of the potential armageddon tearing up buildings around the city of Boston. Collateral damage count, anyone? Betcha it wouldn't meet the number planted by Man of Steel. The double act of Bridges and Reynolds works well enough that it doesn't annoy, although it would be more fun to have the double act of their earthly avatars on screen more. Nick is seen as an old Chinese dude played by the ever-welcomed James Hong (who's been lending vocal support to Kung-Fu Panda), while Roy's avatar is a drop dead gorgeous model played by Marisa Miller. It is a very odd pairing that draws the laughs, and I would have loved to see more of that chemistry on screen instead of the occasional line or bit to remind us what other characters are supposed to see. If there's a complaint, it's simply that given the concept, the movie isn't really quirky enough. Not in the way the first Men In Black movie did it with the hidden world of the aliens hiding in plain sight, or the array of odd tech going around. There's also the attempt not to show how the RIPD fits in with the 'higher forces', almost as if the producers or film-makers don't want to ruffle any religious feathers. It's a weird overly sensitive, happy to sue or complain, world we're living in now. Wonder if Bill and Ted's Bogus Journey were to be made today, what would audiences think about Death and Heaven that appear in the movie. In any case, massive death by collateral damage seems to be okay with most audiences, given how much that has appeared in movies lately. Hmm… topic for discussion. Otherwise, it's a decent and entertaining time waster if you just want to give your brain a little rest by sitting back in a cool darkened theater.
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