'R.I.P.D. 2' Trailer Raises Questions, Like... Why?

By Nate Parker | Film | October 24, 2022 |

By Nate Parker | Film | October 24, 2022 |

You remember 2013’s R.I.P.D., don’t you? Sure you do. Crotchety Jeff Bridges and a pre-‘Pool Ryan Reynolds were dead cops hunting down spirits avoiding their final judgment. Cumin featured heavily. It had the same bloodless CGI violence as Van Helsing and Green Lantern and was a box office bomb, making only $78 million on a budget nearly twice that. It’s garbage. The best thing about it was the review where Dustin suggested its failure would doom Reynolds’ chances as an action star. Maybe we should all stop predicting things.

Anyway, it’s terrible, which means I have a certain affection for it. What I didn’t ask for was a sequel. No one asked for a sequel. On the list of movies that should get sequels R.I.P.D. falls between Freddy Got Fingered and Song of the South. So, of course, it got a sequel. It stars Jeffrey Donovan as a recently-expired Old West lawman and Tilly Keeper (I think?) as a Viking (I think?) hunting down spirits of the damned.

Things I liked about the trailer:

1. Jeffrey Donovan. I appreciate any time a Masshole makes it, and while he’ll never put up Chris Evans numbers, Donovan still qualifies. Plus I know he used to drive the PVTA buses for UMass, Amherst, and that makes me laugh.
2. It’s really short. 26 seconds is all it takes to understand everything one could possibly need to know about this movie.
3. Jeffrey Donovan gets knocked down by a buffalo. I’m a sucker for physical comedy.

That’s all I’ve got. On the other hand, I’ve watched movies for less. I’ll watch practically anything if I don’t have to pay extra for it, and this qualifies as “practically anything.” And since it’s out on Netflix the same day as it hits Blu-Ray, it’s about as close to free as it’s likely to get. So watch R.I.P.D. 2 on November 15. Or don’t. They might just keep making them anyway.