If Men in Black and the HBO series Dead Like Me had a love child, it would look like this. That was my first thought when I saw the preview for R.I.P.D. Later, I was eagerly sitting in a movie theater, wearing my 3D glasses, watching my suspicions confirmed. I found R.I.P.D. to be rambunctious, but lacking the zaniness that made MIB so popular. A little more back-story on the Rest In Peace Department might have been nice. Even more back-story on Nick, the recently deceased cop, would have been nice. Instead, the emphasis was on telling the story as quickly as possible, with the only lingering scenes being the CGI action sequences. Most of the character development was centered on Roy, the Old West character played by Jeff Bridges. While I enjoyed watching Roy’s scene-stealing antics, I only wish that there had been more scenes for him to steal. Now I’m looking forward to seeing the DVD version. Hopefully, the additional material will show deleted scenes and the director’s thoughts on the need for them.
