R.I.P.D. 2: Rise of the Damned
review by Bobby Blakey
Before taking on the Deadpool franchise, Ryan Reynolds dipped into other comic book properties including Blade and Green Lantern. Another one for the 2013 film R.I.P.D based on the comic of the same name from creator Peter M. Lenkov. The film co-stared Jeff Bridges and Kevin Bacon, but sadly was a box office bomb. To everyone’s surprise there is now a prequel to the film here titled R.I.P.D. 2: Rise of the Damned starring Jeffery Donovan, Rachel Adedeji, Penelope Mitchell and Richard Brake, but does this sequel no one asked for have something to offer or will it be dead on arrival?
R.I.P.D. 2: Rise of the Damned follows Sheriff Roy Pulsipher, in the American West of 1876, who isn't too thrilled about finding himself dead after a shoot-out with a notorious outlaw gang, but he does get a second chance to return to earth after being recruited by the R.I.P.D. (Rest In Peace Department.). But avenging his own murder may have to take a back seat to saving the world when a gateway to hell is opened in the old mining town of Red Creek threatening not only the locals... but all of humanity itself.
While I didn’t hate the original film like most did, I never thought it was all that great. The idea is awesome and both Reynolds and Bridges were fun to watch together, but it just felt like a cheap rip off of Men In Black. To say I was surprised that after all this time they did a new entry would be an understatement, but the change of time period for a prequel following Bridges character at least seemed like it might give it a fresh infusion to try something new.
I can’t say that the new film is all that great, but it is a lot better than I had expected. It follows a lot of the same formula of the original setting up the world of the R.I.P.D. before taking it all back to the Wild West. This
element did make for some fun with the time and issues with the bodies they were using. I also love a good western and while this isn’t necessarily a good one, it still delivers all the usual western action and style that you would expect. The story of what they are trying to stop is kind of cliché and felt like something we have seen a thousand times before, but it works fine enough.
I do think the film lingers on too long for what it is and after a while I found myself losing interest, but stuck it out. It didn’t bring anything all that much to help boost the franchise, but does set itself up for some pretty fun straight to video market reboot of it. Jeffery Donovan is actually great in the part and even brings in a lot of Bridges mannerisms to the young version nd makes for a fun character to watch. The always great Richard Brake is a great villain and cuts loose to do his thing per normal. The rest of the cast are fine, but all roaming through an uninspired film that could have been so much better.
Decide for yourself and check out R.I.P.D. 2: The Rise Of The Damned available now on Blu-ray, DVD and streaming on Netflix from Universal Home Entertainment.