With the first trailer just debuting, this afterlife secret agency flick, R.I.P.D., which stands for Rest in Peace Division, sure seems to remind me a lot of Men in Black. Sure, Tommy Lee Jones and Will Smith may have been replaced by Jeff Bridges and Ryan Reynolds respectively, but with all the gadgetry, puns and aliens (or I guess they’re the undead?) this totally feel like a dark alley we’ve walked down before.
However inoffensive this trailer may be it but hardly sells me on the idea of actually attending the film in theaters. While the original Men in Black film was a light and commendable romp, the sequels bogged themselves down and the formula got old quickly. I just can’t see R.I.P.D. doing enough to distinguish itself as a fresh enough idea. Accordingly, this really doesn’t inspire much confidence for this filmgoer. Having said that, this trailer does seem to go after the Men in Black audience so I guess we’ll see exactly how close that tone of the film is to M.I.B. in the coming months.
I’ll try to hold off judgement for now because R.I.P.D., like Men in Black, is a comic book adaptation and so I assume it must have it’s fair share of differences… well, that’s actually not true at all. I mean, they both use abbreviations with an “I” in them!
Take a peek and see if you notice all the M.I.B. similarities too.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X07xNrVd7DU
R.I.P.D. is directed byRobert Schwentke and stars Jeff Bridges, Ryan Reynolds,Kevin Bacon, Mary Louise-Parker, Stephanie Szostak, Marissa Miller, and James Hong and opens July 19th.
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By: Matt Oakes
Started blogging about film in college when the university paper wouldn’t have him. Dislikes your consensus film Twitter favorites. Devotee of horror movies that make him die a little inside. Catches films at festivals when he can. Proud SFCS and OFCS member and Tomatometer-approved critic. Editor-in-chief of Silver Screen Riot.
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