At this point, the “buddy cop” genre is hopelessly formulaic. The industry has ’80s hits such as “48 Hrs.” and “Lethal Weapon” to thank for that. But even “R.I.P.D.,” a film notable for somewhat diverging off the path with a supernatural flair, can’t escape the inevitable course of becoming lackluster entertainment.
Boston cop Nick Walker (Ryan Reynolds) is killed in the line of duty and, while on his way to afterlife judgment, is sent on a detour to the Rest in Peace Department, or R.I.P.D. The organization is responsible for keeping the damned from escaping judgment and hiding on Earth, and their always busy Boston department wants to recruit Nick to their protective services.
He is teamed up with 19th century R.I.P.D. veteran Roy Pulsipher (Jeff Bridges) and sent back to his Boston home turf. Nevertheless, while learning the newly complex ropes of the world he once lived in, he is caught up in solving an undead scheme that suspiciously involves his ex-partner, Bobby Hayes (Kevin Bacon).
In his review for a similar buddy cop movie, “Rush Hour,” critic Roger Ebert coined the term “Wunza Movie,” (a pun on the phrase “one’s a…”) referring to the habit of buddy cop films to pair two very different partners together. The term couldn’t be more appropriate for the contrasting silliness of the main protagonists of “R.I.P.D.”
Nick is a fair, though confused, cop who desperately wishes to return home to his wife. Roy is an impatient, unfriendly Old West sheriff who wants to work alone. The film’s most clever moments come from their different personalities and backgrounds attempting to coexist. Though this humor coming from such predictable ideas go to show how humorless the movie is.
When it unavoidably airs on television action movie blocks, many scenes from “R.I.P.D.” will easily be mistaken for “Men in Black.” Both feature odd creatures as villains hiding on the planet Earth, obsessed with ancient artifacts that can help them cause immense havoc. Both have a theme of disconnection from the world, and coming to terms with oneself and reality. And yet, where “Men in Black” was havoc at its most alien-filled enjoyable peak, “R.I.P.D.” only feels hollow and ridiculous.
The established rules of the universe the cops operate in are practically nonexistent. The only important one addressed is the inability to communicate your identity to the living. The dead defy gravity, can’t be visibly injured and open wormholes, all the while leaving behind an immense amount of destruction for the city of Boston to handle. Much of it is hard to grasp, which is sure to contribute heavily to the lack of engagement the audience may feel to the characters or their plot.
Visually, “R.I.P.D.” doesn’t strive for much either. Like “Men in Black,” the dead can be brought out of hiding and transformed into their actual monster-like forms. However, the unimaginative “R.I.P.D.” appears to only make these monsters larger and fatter than their human identities. The visual effects are poor, often throwing cheap 3-D gags toward the screen, with unconvincing shooting scenes or monster spit.
Though it starts off with all the pieces of a plausibly interesting premise, “R.I.P.D.” quickly decelerates into a formulaic routine devoid of the entertainment that made any of its predecessors enjoyable. At the end of its run (a short 96 minutes, something of a saving grace), “R.I.P.D.” clearly sets up for a potential sequel. If one does happen to be made, it won’t be because the film deserved it. More likely, it will be to let Bridges have his rowdy, thick-accented, cowboy fun.