This potential franchise-starter falls short of the mark and is a rather dispiriting watch. Its obvious mash-up of Men In Black, The Frighteners, Ghostbusters, Dragnet and many more is not the main problem, as most big Hollywood committee movies are as equally derivative these days; however, this movie take on R.I.P.D. seems to have no idea what its target audience is, and consequently just about everything - direction, performances, plot, humour, creature design - lack consistency and purpose. At times the material screams out for a serious, gritty tone to be maintained and at others pure family farce, but instead turns what could have been either an inspired Pirates Of the Caribbean-styled romp or a strong action-fantasy fest into a somewhat uninspired and flat drag. Ryan Reynolds is charmless and uninteresting - he is no Will Smith - Jeff Bridges replays Rooster Cogburn in dour fashion and is never really allowed to fly, Kevin Bacon is as reliable as ever but his role is underdeveloped, and Mary-Louise Parker is the only real stand-out with enjoyable timing and delivery. Children in the cinema audience were chuckling quite a lot, but by aiming for safe middle ground, this movie is a disappointingly missed opportunity.
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