R.I.P.D.
<object width="560" height="315"><param name="movie" value=" name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="560" height="315" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object>
“Activism is a way for useless people to feel important, even if the consequences of their activism are counterproductive for those they claim to be helping and damaging to the fabric of society as a whole.” - Dr Thomas Sowell
This review is going to be one big spoiler fest, so if you want to go into this movie fresh, skip it. Although, to be honest, it won't matter. It's not a great movie, and it's VERY predictable.
I can almost guarantee the pitch for this movie was: "It's MIB meets Ghost".
It's actually MUCH closer to Ghost than MIB.
MIB worked because they explored the concept of the agency a lot, and did their best to make it plausible via the little mind wipe gadgets.
This movie spends basically zero time establishing the RIPD, and instead the whole movie is more focused on the Ghost plot. For a movie about a police force that polices the dead, they sure didn't show much of that. Hell, the very first completely random bust they make ties them into the Ghost plot.
The actors involved all do a good job, but they were saddled with a poorly written piece of shit.
I can almost guarantee the pitch for this movie was: "It's MIB meets Ghost".
It's actually MUCH closer to Ghost than MIB.
MIB worked because they explored the concept of the agency a lot, and did their best to make it plausible via the little mind wipe gadgets.
This movie spends basically zero time establishing the RIPD, and instead the whole movie is more focused on the Ghost plot. For a movie about a police force that polices the dead, they sure didn't show much of that. Hell, the very first completely random bust they make ties them into the Ghost plot.
The actors involved all do a good job, but they were saddled with a poorly written piece of shit.
“Activism is a way for useless people to feel important, even if the consequences of their activism are counterproductive for those they claim to be helping and damaging to the fabric of society as a whole.” - Dr Thomas Sowell
DVR'd this. For as bad as I thought it'd be, there were a few entertaining bits. The premise is kind of interesting. The execution was horrible and so I'm forced to assume the title is a double entendre referring to the state of mind of the screenwriters.
I got a Ghost Busters vibe, particularly during the shot of The Dude looking up a million flights of stairs before going up onto the huge skyscraper where the supernatural antagonists were trying to end the world. At least he didn't summon a huge, white, puffy deado.
Only time I felt the MiB thing was when they were back at the station and the chick from Weeds was bitching them out for letting the deado get on TV.
Spoilers follow....
1) When Six Degrees Of breaks out the time slowdown artifact in the RIPD HQ, what's to stop him and his buddies from grabbing some guns from the cops and blasting them into oblivion?
2) When Six Degrees Of is beating the shit of out of Berg ... what's he hoping to do? Large cars can fall on him and he barely blinks. Smashing his face with a metal plate will no doubt stop him, though. Did he run out of guns?
3) In fact, nothing Six Degrees Of does in this movie makes any sense. He's the most incompetent criminal mastermind in the fucking universe.
4) It looked vaguely cool, but Nightwatch looked cooler and its budget was 3% of RIPD. I shit you not. RIPD was filmed for $130M and I wonder how much of that cash went to CG and blue/green screen. My guess is "lots."
5) The popped deados looked like fucking arcade graphics from ten years ago. They were everywhere.
Edited By Malcolm on 1402863555
I got a Ghost Busters vibe, particularly during the shot of The Dude looking up a million flights of stairs before going up onto the huge skyscraper where the supernatural antagonists were trying to end the world. At least he didn't summon a huge, white, puffy deado.
Only time I felt the MiB thing was when they were back at the station and the chick from Weeds was bitching them out for letting the deado get on TV.
Spoilers follow....
1) When Six Degrees Of breaks out the time slowdown artifact in the RIPD HQ, what's to stop him and his buddies from grabbing some guns from the cops and blasting them into oblivion?
2) When Six Degrees Of is beating the shit of out of Berg ... what's he hoping to do? Large cars can fall on him and he barely blinks. Smashing his face with a metal plate will no doubt stop him, though. Did he run out of guns?
3) In fact, nothing Six Degrees Of does in this movie makes any sense. He's the most incompetent criminal mastermind in the fucking universe.
4) It looked vaguely cool, but Nightwatch looked cooler and its budget was 3% of RIPD. I shit you not. RIPD was filmed for $130M and I wonder how much of that cash went to CG and blue/green screen. My guess is "lots."
5) The popped deados looked like fucking arcade graphics from ten years ago. They were everywhere.
Edited By Malcolm on 1402863555
Diogenes of Sinope: "It is not that I am mad, it is only that my head is different from yours."
Arnold Judas Rimmer, BSC, SSC: "Better dead than smeg."
Arnold Judas Rimmer, BSC, SSC: "Better dead than smeg."