R.I.P.D.

Adapted from a comic-book, this unholy mash-up of Men in Black, Ghostbusters, Ghost, and the short-lived CW series Reaper stars Ryan Reynolds as Nick, a Boston cop killed during a drug raid by his nefarious partner, Hayes (Kevin Bacon). In the afterlife, Nick is given the opportunity to redeem himself by working for the Rest in Peace Department, where he is tasked with bringing in (or annihilating) so called “Deados,” deceased folks who refuse to “move on” to the lower depths. Partnered with Roy (Jeff Bridges)—a garrulous Wild West lawman—-Nick has to learn the ropes for taking down these malefactors, who (when confronted) turn into bulbous, smelly, destructive, cartoonish beasties. Nick is also driven to try to reconnect with his widow Julia (Stephanie Szostak), despite the fact that to humans he appears in the form of an elderly Chinese man. And, of course, he wants to bring down Hayes, who is not only romancing Julia but also plans to release all the souls from hell in order to take over the world. Initially, Nick and Roy are predictably like oil and water, but they manage to bond and—in a splashy, over-the-top finale—avert Armageddon. Bridges steals what little show there is in R.I.P.D. with his broad, oversized turn, but Reynolds is bland and Bacon does little more than flare his nostrils. The cheesy special effects here aim for loopy and cool but wind up being silly, gross, and boring. Not recommended. [Note: DVD/Blu-ray extras include a “Transferring R.I.P.D.” making-of featurette (8 min.), deleted and alternate scenes (7 min.), a gag reel (4 min.), and trailers. Exclusive to the Blu-ray release are two alternate openings (9 min.), the production featurettes “Anatomy of a Shootout” (8 min.), “Walking Among Us: Deados & Avatars” (8 min.), “Filming the Other Side” with director Robert Schwentke (7 min.), and “Motion Comics: Bringing the Avatars to Life” (6 min.), a brief “Nick's New Avatars” segment, and bonus DVD, digital, and UltraViolet copies of the film. Bottom line: a solid extras package for a disappointing film.] (F. Swietek)