R.I.P.D.

R.I.P.D.
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Robert Schwentke
Screenplay by	Phil Hay Matt Manfredi
Story by	David Dobkin Phil Hay Matt Manfredi
Based on	Rest in Peace Department by Peter M. Lenkov Lucas Marangon
Produced by	Neal H. Moritz Mike Richardson Michael Fottrell
Starring	Jeff Bridges Ryan Reynolds Kevin Bacon Mary-Louise Parker Stéphanie Szostak
Cinematography	Alwin H. Küchler
Edited by	Mark Helfrich
Music by	Christophe Beck[1]
Production companies	Dark Horse Entertainment Original Film
Distributed by	Universal Pictures
Release dates	July 17, 2013 (2013-07-17) (Iceland) July 19, 2013 (2013-07-19) (United States)
Running time	96 minutes[2]
Country	United States[3]
Language	English
Budget	$130-154 million[4][5]
Box office	$78.3 million[6]

R.I.P.D.: Rest in Peace Department or simply R.I.P.D., is a 2013 American supernatural action comedy film starring Jeff Bridges and Ryan Reynolds. Robert Schwentke directed the film based on a screenplay adapted from the comic book R.I.P.D. by Peter M. Lenkov. The film also stars Kevin Bacon, Mary-Louise Parker, Stéphanie Szostak, and Marisa Miller.

Filming was completed on January 28, 2012,^[7] and the film was originally set to be released on June 28, 2013^[8] in the United States by Universal Pictures, but was pushed back to July 19, 2013.

The film was a box-office bomb, grossing $78 million on a $130 million budget, and was met with negative reviews.

Plot[]

Boston Police Department officers Nick Walker and Bobby Hayes discover and steal several shards of gold while on duty. Nick buries his share in his garden but realizes that he and his wife, Julia, do not need the gold, and decides to submit it as evidence. During a raid, Hayes tells Nick that he cannot let him turn in the gold, and kills Nick before triggering a shootout to cover up the murder. As he dies, time stops around Nick and he is drawn into a vortex in the sky, and is suddenly brought to a room.

Nick finds that he is currently in the afterlife, and faces eternal damnation for his thievery. As penance, Nick is recruited into the R.I.P.D. (Rest In Peace Department), who are responsible for capturing souls who refuse to move on to the afterlife known as "Deados", monsters disguised as humans who threaten the mortal realm and the masquerade that keeps mortals unaware of the afterlife. He is partnered with Roicephus "Roy" Pulsipher, a former U.S. Marshal and Union soldier in the American Civil War. They head to a cemetery to watch Nick's funeral, and Nick attempts to approach Julia but is not recognized. Roy explains that R.I.P.D. officers are given new identities and appearances to prevent them from breaching the masquerade; Nick appears as an elderly Asian man while Roy appears as a beautiful blonde woman.

For his first field mission, Nick aids Roy in interrogating a suspected Deado and discovers the perpetrator is in possession of gold similar to what he and Hayes had stolen. Nick and Roy submit the gold as evidence before visiting one of Roy's informants, who Nick manages to trick into revealing that Hayes is his contact. They follow Hayes to Nick's house, where he digs up Nick's gold before handing it off to a Deado whom they stop and interrogate. However, the Deado overpowers them, taking the gold and transforming into a hulking monster that leads them on a chase through the city that attracts the attention of living humans and causes a panic. When the two return to R.I.P.D. headquarters, Chief Mildred Proctor is informed that the gold fragments are part of an ancient weapon called the Staff of Jericho, which has the power to reverse the flow of souls from Earth to the afterlife. She also receives orders to remove Roy and Nick from the case and to suspend them from active duty due to the exposure caused by the monster's rampage.

Roy and Nick argue, and Nick leaves by himself to try again to reveal himself to Julia, but she is unable to recognize him due to his altered identity and she flees. Roy follows him and the two make amends, and Roy decides to help Nick stop whatever Hayes is planning. They discover that Hayes is a Deado and arrest him, but a confiscated item of his freezes the whole department. Hayes and a group of Deados escape with the remainder of the gold and assemble the Staff of Jericho, intending to use it to remain in the living world indefinitely. Hayes takes Julia hostage and stabs her as a human sacrifice to activate the staff. As the two engage Hayes' forces, Roy manages to destroy the Staff of Jericho, while Nick kills Hayes. Being critically wounded by the sacrifice puts Julia close enough to death to see Nick for who he is; they reconcile and share a tearful farewell, with Nick encouraging Julia to continue living for both of them.

Later, Proctor informs Nick that Julia will live. She reinstates them both fully, though she adds 53 years to Roy's term in the R.I.P.D. due to her revealed affections for him. As a reward, Roy also gives Nick a new appearance, but he is dismayed to find it is that of a Girl Scout.

Cast[]

• Ryan Reynolds as Nick Walker,^[9] a detective sergeant of the Boston Police Department who is murdered and becomes Roy Pulsipher's partner.
• Jeff Bridges as Roicephus "Roy" Pulsipher,^[10] a United States Marshal and former American Civil War Yankee soldier from the Wild West and veteran officer of the R.I.P.D.
• Mary-Louise Parker as Mildred Proctor:^[11] Head of the Boston Police Department R.I.P.D.
• Kevin Bacon as Bobby Hayes,^[12] a corrupt detective lieutenant of the Boston Police Department who is in league with the deados.
• Stéphanie Szostak as Julia Walker,^[13] Nick's wife / widow.
• Marisa Miller as Opal Pavlenko, Roy's avatar.^[14]
• James Hong as Grandpa Jerry Chen, Nick's avatar #1.^[15]
• Devin Ratray as Pulaski, a Deado
• Robert Knepper as Stanley Nawicki, a Deado.
• Mike O'Malley as Elliot,^[15] Fenway Park's scoreboard operator.
• Larry Joe Campbell as Officer Murphy
• Piper Mackenzie Harris as Girl Scout, Nick's avatar #2.
• Toby Huss, Mike Judge, and Jon Olson as Various Deado Voices

Zach Galifianakis was originally cast as Roy Pulsipher, but dropped out due to scheduling conflicts.^[16] Jodie Foster was originally considered for the role of Proctor, but in the end, Mary-Louise Parker was cast.^[17]

Music[]

The soundtrack to RIPD was released on July 16, 2013.

Release[]

The film was originally set to be released on June 28, 2013, but was pushed back to July 19, 2013 in the United States.

Marketing[]

On July 16, Adult Swim's YouTube channel uploaded an animated prequel short, which was produced by Titmouse, Inc. and featured the voice work of Reynolds and Bridges.^[19]

Box office[]

The film grossed only $12.7 million in its opening weekend and ended its theatrical run with $78.3 million worldwide, including a $33.6 million domestic total and $44.7 million in other territories.^[6] According to Deadline.com the budget was more than the $130 million the studio claimed, and was $154 million even after $28.1 million in tax rebates.^[5] The film is considered a box office bomb.^[20][21][22]

Critical response[]

R.I.P.D. received generally negative reviews from critics. On Rotten Tomatoes the film has an approval rating of 13% based on 104 reviews with an average rating of 3.70/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "It has its moments — most of them courtesy of Jeff Bridges' rootin' tootin' performance as an undead Wild West sheriff — but R.I.P.D. is ultimately too dim-witted and formulaic to satisfy."^[23] On Metacritic, the film has a score of 25 out of 100 based on 27 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews".^[24] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "C+" on an A+ to F scale.^[25][5]

Film critic Roger Moore gave the film one-and-a-half out of four stars, calling it "the worst comic book adaptation since Jonah Hex."^[26] Kyle Smith of the New York Post gave the film a half-star out of four, writing: "For a movie that so strenuously rips off Ghostbusters and Men in Black, R.I.P.D. manages to come up with fresh new ways of being absolutely terrible. The plot manages to be fully predictable and freakishly bonkers at the same time, seemingly born of the same kind of brainstorming-on-L.S.D. session that must have given us Howard the Duck."^[27]

During a Reddit AMA Discussion, Jeff Bridges stated while he enjoyed working on the film with the cast and crew, he believed the film failed due to studio interference. He said "The suits cut it against the grain, and, I thought, screwed it up." He described the film as underwhelming.

Video game[]

An Atlus published video game based on the film and titled R.I.P.D. The Game was released on July 16, 2013, for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360. The game is a co-op third-person shooter, set around a survival mode. It was developed by Old School Games and features gameplay similar to their previous game, God Mode. Just like its film counterpart, R.I.P.D. The Game received mostly negative reviews.^[28]

References[]

External links[]

• R.I.P.D. at IMDb
• R.I.P.D. at Box Office Mojo
• R.I.P.D. at Rotten Tomatoes
• R.I.P.D. at Metacritic