R.I.P.D follows a classic cop story formula of old veteran and youthful rookie cop, going out together and saving the day. But throw into the mix that they are both deceased and died nearly two years apart, means that the veteran role is considerably older and stuck in his ways than normal. The Rest In Peace Department is a select group of people who are chosen from their own personal skill sets to Police the undead or those who choose not to go to where they are supposed to when they die.
I must say that when I watched the trailer for this movie it was very easy to see that it is a very obvious mix up of Men in Black and they really do not hide the fact either. Replace the Aliens with demons and ghouls, make the two lead top Cop characters have an age gap (in this case considerable) then add an apocalyptic threat into the mix and off you go. That said, personally, I did not mind that at all, it is a style of film that is out there to be re-hashed because of its entertainment value.
The biggest thing that drew me to this movie, was the casting. The Veteran Cop and Rookie Cop characters are played by Jeff Bridges and Ryan Reynolds, both of which I am big fans of. Yes, this is not up there as one of their most challenging films, but they genuinely bounced off each other creating some true laugh out loud moments. Bridges slips into his western role to great effect, playing a dead sheriff using his Rooster Cogburn (True Grit) western drawl, whilst strutting around like the Big Lebowski and bringing a similar comedy feel to his role – just great to watch. Ryan Reynolds delivers his comedy lines brilliantly and brings a little of Deadpool to this role, well before Deadpool was actually made, you can see why he was an obvious choice to be cast in that role. The other great stand out in the film is Kevin Bacon plays the obligatory baddie and he is just great, really pushing his character to the limit as the film builds to its climax.
Now it has to be said, that I do not believe that when Jeff Bridges took on this role that he was expecting any awards for it. Take that on mind before watching it, It genuinely is a movie that was made for fun, to entertain, to make you laugh and it does exactly what it was set out to do. The comparison was made to Men in Black earlier, but I really think this is a better movie – just relax on the sofa and enjoy it on Netflix.
