Universal Pictures
Ryan Reynolds, the Hollywood A-lister, had a long and winding road to stardom. Initially, he was cast as the romantic lead in several movies, but only a few, like “The Proposal,” garnered significant success. His attempt to break into the horror genre with the remake of “The Amityville Horror” was not well-received. Reynolds found some success as the comedic lead in movies like “Waiting…” and “Van Wilder,” but his immature buffoon characters could only last for so long. His action films like “X-Men Origins: Wolverine” and “Green Lantern” were heavily criticized, even by Reynolds himself. It was only when he starred in “The Voices,” “Pokémon Detective Pikachu,” and especially “Deadpool” that he truly shone as a star. His film “Deadpool & Wolverine,” which he also produced and co-wrote, grossed over $1.3 billion in 2024.
Before his Deadpool success, Reynolds starred in the 2013 fantasy action film “R.I.P.D.” by Robert Schwentke. In the movie, Reynolds played Nick Walker, a recently deceased cop who is forced to join the Rest in Peace Department (R.I.P.D) in the afterlife. Paired with an Old West sheriff named Roycephus Pulsipher (Jeff Bridges), they are tasked with capturing souls that have escaped judgement. This dynamic was reminiscent of the iconic duo J and K from “Men in Black.”
Despite its promising premise, “R.I.P.D.” was a financial failure. With a budget of $150 million, the film only grossed about $79 million worldwide, making it Reynolds’ second biggest movie flop, only surpassed by “Green Lantern”. The film was also critically panned, earning a measly 13% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, making it his worst-reviewed movie.
R.I.P.D.’s Spectacular Failure
Universal Pictures
The failure of “R.I.P.D.” was not due to its similarities with “Men in Black,” but its lack of humor. Despite Reynolds’ comedic prowess, his chemistry with Jeff Bridges was nonexistent. The film also failed to fully utilize its unique premise where R.I.P.D. members appear as different avatars to the living. This interesting concept could have been used to explore themes of identity and appearance, but the film instead opted for simple gags about Nick’s reluctance to appear as an elderly man.
Critics savaged “R.I.P.D.,” calling it an unfunny disaster. Steven Boone of RogerEbert.com, Manohla Dargis of the New York Times, and Richard Corliss of Time Magazine were among the critics who criticized the film. Boone referred to it as generic and derivative, Dargis stated that Jeff Bridges was the only redeeming factor, and Corliss compared watching the film to waiting for jury duty.
With an approval rating of only 13%, “R.I.P.D.” is the lowest-rated film in Reynolds’ career, even lower than “Van Wilder” (18%), “Self/Less” (18%), and “Fireflies in the Garden” (21%). Even the notorious failures “Blade: Trinity” and “Green Lantern” have higher approval ratings. Overall, “R.I.P.D.” was not just bad, it was uninterestingly bad.
Credit: www.slashfilm.com
