R.I.P.D.


R.I.P.D.: Rest in Peace Department or simply R.I.P.D., is a 2013 American science fiction 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, and the film was originally set to be released on June 28, 2013 in the United States by Universal Pictures, but was pushed back to July 19, 2013.
The film was both a critical and commercial failure, grossing $78 million on a $130 million budget.

Plot

officers Detective Sergeant Nick Walker and Detective Lieutenant Bobby Hayes discover and steal several shards of gold while on duty. Nick buries his share under an orange tree sapling in his garden; his wife, Julia, thinks that the tree is a surprise gift and mentions how content she is with their life together. Nick realizes that they do not need the gold, and decides to submit it as evidence. During a raid later on, Hayes tells Nick that he can't let him turn in the gold, and kills Nick, triggering a shootout to cover up the murder. Time stops around Nick and he is drawn into a vortex in the sky, but is suddenly pulled into a room just before he reaches the top of the vortex.
In the afterlife, Nick finds that he faces eternal damnation for his thievery. As penance, Nick is recruited for the R.I.P.D., who are responsible for finding and returning souls who refuse to move on to the afterlife. Left unchecked, these souls become "deados", monsters disguised as humans, and when their souls begin to rot, the environment rots around them. He is partnered with Roycephus "Roy" Pulsipher, a former U.S. Marshal and Union soldier in the American Civil War. Their first stop is at a cemetery to watch Nick's funeral, and Nick attempts to make his presence known to Julia but is not recognized. Roy explains that R.I.P.D. officers are given new identities and appearances to prevent them from revealing that the afterlife exists; Nick appears as an old Chinese man while Roy appears as a beautiful blonde woman.
On his first field mission, Nick aids Roy in interrogating a suspected deado and discovers the perpetrator is in possession of gold like he and Hayes had stolen. Nick and Roy submit the gold as evidence before visiting one of Roy's informants. Nick tricks the informant into revealing Hayes as his contact. They follow Hayes to Nick's old house, where he "discovers" Nick's stolen gold. Roy and Nick track Hayes and observe him handing the gold off to a deado whom they stop and interrogate. 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 normal humans and causes a panic. When the two return to R.I.P.D. headquarters, Chief Mildred Proctor is informed by "Eternal Affairs" that the gold fragments they found 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 tails him and they argue, but finally make amends as wells as forgiving Nick and decide to work together to 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 necessary human sacrifice to activate the staff. A battle ensues; Pulsipher destroys the Staff of Jericho, and Nick exacts his revenge on 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

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

Music

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

Release

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.

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. 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. The film is considered a box office bomb.

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 100 reviews with an average rating of 3.61/10. 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." On Metacritic, the film has a score of 25 out of 100 based on 27 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "C+" on an A+ to F scale.
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." Kyle Smith of the New York Post gave the film a half-star out of four, writing: Beck Bennett loved this film and wishes it received both a sequel and a theme park ride.

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.

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