R.I.P.D. 3D [2013] [3D Blu-ray + 2D Blu-ray + DVD + Digital HD ULTRAVIOLET] [USA Release]
Defending Our World One Soul At A Time!
Jeff Bridges and Ryan Reynolds headline this supernatural action-adventure as two cops dispatched by the R.I.P.D. [Rest In Peace Department] to protect and serve the living from increasingly destructive spirits hiding among the unsuspecting on Earth. When they uncover a plot that could end life as we know it, the new partners have to turn grudging respect into top-notch teamwork to restore the cosmic balance...or watch the tunnel to the afterlife begin sending angry souls the very wrong way.
Cast: Jeff Bridges, Ryan Reynolds, Kevin Bacon, Mary-Louise Parker, Stephanie Szostak, James Hong, Marisa Miller, Robert Knepper, Mike O'Malley, Devin Ratray, Larry Joe Campbell, Michael Coons, Christina Everett, Michael Tow, Lonnie Farmer, Piper Mackenzie Harris, Ben Sloane, Duncan B. Putney, Michael Yebba, David J. Curtis, Kachina Dechert, Cheryl McMahon, Georgia Lyman, Matt McColm, Catherine Kresge, John Burke, Joe Stapleton, Michael Steven Costello, Naheem Garcia, Lance Greene, Tobias Segal, Toby Huss, Mike Judge, Jon Olson, Diana Afonso (uncredited), Charlie Alejandro (uncredited), Mel Alejandro (uncredited), Dale F. Appel (uncredited), Stephanie Atkinson (uncredited), Gregory Barbon (uncredited), Morgan Bernhard (uncredited), Clinton Blackburn (uncredited), David Boston (uncredited), Nicholas Cairis (uncredited), Danny Connelly (uncredited), Diane Curran (uncredited), Shawn Fogarty (uncredited), Jim Ford (uncredited), Jane Forrestal (uncredited), Jon Gould (uncredited), Tim Jacobs (uncredited), Jimmy Jules (uncredited), Rhet Kidd (uncredited), Joshua Koopman (uncredited), Daniel Lowney (uncredited), Jeff Martineau (uncredited), Andrea-Nichole Olivas (uncredited), D.J. Pierce (uncredited), Kathryn Shasha (uncredited), Matthew Spinale (uncredited), Franz Strassmann (uncredited), Ben Tanguay (uncredited), Jamie Christopher (uncredited), White Chris Whitney (uncredited), Jimmy P. Wong (uncredited), Tony Ramos Wright (uncredited), William Xifaras (uncredited) and Adam Zalt (uncredited)
Director: Robert Schwentke
Producers: Alex Westmore, David Dobkin, Jonathon Komack Martin, Keith Goldberg, Michael Fottrell, Mike Richardson, Neal H. Moritz, Ori Marmur and Peter M. Lenkov
Screenplay: Phil Hay (screenplay), Matt Manfredi (screenplay), David Dobkin (story), Matt Manfredi (story), Phil Hay (story), Lucas Marangon (comic book) and Peter M. Lenkov (comic book created)
Composer: Christophe Beck
Cinematography: Alwin Küchler (Director of Photography)
Image Resolution: 1080p
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
Audio: English: 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio
English: 5.1 Dolby Digital Audio
English: 2.0 Dolby Digital Stereo Audio
French: 5.1 DTS-HD Audio
French: 5.1 Dolby Digital Audio
Spanish: 5.1 DTS-HD Audio
Spanish 5.1 Dolby Digital Audio
Subtitles: English SDH, French and Spanish
Running Time: 288 minutes
Region: Blu-ray: All Regions + DVD: NTSC
Number of discs: 3
Studio: Universal Pictures
Andrew's Blu-ray Review: Brimming with wildly fantastic CGI marvels, extravagantly sensational action sequences that'll have eyeballs popping out viewers' heads, and a dazzling host of colourful characters. 'R.I.P.D.' 3D is a good shoot em' up film with plenty of action to add to the ambience of the film. It's a bizarre but admittedly imaginative blend of 'Ghostbusters' meets 'Men in Black' with heavy dabs of the supernatural, dashes of the western and a pinch of sci-fi that the 3D image makes the film look good.
Very loosely based on the comic by Peter M. Lenkov 'Demolition Man' and the script by Matt Manfredi and Phil Hay, the same tag-team that brought us such gems as 'Clash of the Titans.' The filmmakers inject the story with a series of excitedly over-the-top jokes, puns, and lots of visual gags. Yet, the entire film has at some parts of the film good humour and a witty spirit.
Ryan Reynolds, who looks as if he's breezing through the role completely bored out of his tiny mind. The generally reliable actor spends much of his time staring at action occurring around him with an uninterested gaze, as if he's confused about the reasons he agreed to be in this. In the few moments in which he suddenly wakes up and shows mild interest, it feels as if he's reminded that he signed on because the pay check was good. His usually a lively personality and impeccable comedic timing are missing entirely, walking from one scene to the next in a lifeless daze, making the character quite unlikeable. Even the attempt at having Nick Walker [Ryan Reynolds] is a crooked cop with a heart and a loving wife Julia Walker [Stephanie Szostak] does little to improve the actor's noticeably stale and listless performance.
The only light at the end of this dark tunnel is Jeff Bridges doing a mix of Jeff "the Dude" Lebowski and Rooster Cogburn as Nick's new partner, Roycephus "Roy" Pulsipher. Showing him the ropes in the afterlife police force, such as how to expose "deados," where the dead trying to evade final judgment and with threats of Indian food, Jeff Bridges's surly, old-timey U.S. Marshal is a hoot, excited at the sight of ankles and sometimes incoherently grumbling moans about his physical death. He has just reason for hating those darn coyotes.
The character serves as blatant comic relief but feels more like the main attraction, yet he's relegated to sidekick duties. Nick Walker dupes one of Roy's informants into revealing Bobby Hayes as his contact. They follow Bobby Hayes to Nick Walker's old house, where he "discovers" Nick's stolen gold. After arguing over the gold, R.I.P.D. Chief Mildred Proctor [Mary-Louise Parker] receives orders to remove them from the case and from active duty due to this exposure. Mildred Proctor [Mary-Louise Parker] learns from Eternal Affairs that the gold could be used to construct the “Staff of Jericho,” which will reverse the flow of souls from earth to the afterlife.
Director Robert Schwentke does what he can with the material, like getting the best from Jeff Bridges, but also delivers a good chunk of the action and the story's most dazzling moments with little sense of purpose or urgency. The screen is a flurry and commotion of dazzling effects that ideally should excite and thrill, but much of it feels like a waste of energy because we don't care a lick for any of the characters, except for the wily Roy. Other than Ryan Reynolds' vapidly dry presence, we suffer an emotionless Mary-Louise Parker as useless commanding officer Proctor and Kevin Bacon is nothing more than a real dead weight and a really bad actor. 'R.I.P.D.' But overall despite all the reviews I have read gives it a thumbs down, but I personally enjoy it very much and had a few good laughs on the way, but what helps this film is the 3D on this Blu-ray disc, but when I saw it in 3D at the cinema it was so very bad and at times totally unwatchable, I wish I had seen it in 2D.
R.I.P.D. MUSIC TRACK LIST
HEY NINETEEN (Written by Walter Becker and Donald Fagen) [Performed by Steely Dan]
KONICHIWI BITCHES – TRENTEMØLLER REMIX (Written by Klas Ahlund and Robyn Carlsson) [Performed by Robyn Carlsson]
LET’S GET IT ON (Written by Marvin Gaye and Ed Townsend) [Performed by Marvin Gaye]
TRY IT AGAIN (Written by Nicholaus Arson) [Performed by The Hives]
THE BETTER MAN (Music by Jeff Bridges and T Bone Burnett) (Lyrics by Jeff Bridges, T Bone Burnett, Phil Hay, Matt Manfredi and Robert Schwentke) [Performed by Jeff Bridges]
Blu-ray Image Quality – 'R.I.P.D.' 3D Blu-ray presents us with a first-rate 1080p encoded image that often amazes with a variety of highly-detailed scenes. Shot digitally, the freshly-minted transfer reveals the tiniest wrinkles in Jeff Bridges' aging face and exposes every pore on Ryan Reynolds' mug. Mary-Louise Parker, of course, looks flawless, but a couple negligible blemishes are apparent, especially in close-up. Every hair and whisker on various characters is razor-sharp, and fine lines in buildings, clothing and furniture are distinct. However, I also detected a smidge of aliasing around a couple objects here and there, a few scenes seem suspect of artificial sharpening, and some sequences are a tad softer than others. Presented in its original 2.35:1 aspect ratio, the video comes with a varied and full-bodied colour palette. Primaries are quite energetic, adding to the movie's comedic feel, while secondary hues are very bold with plenty of warmth. Contrast is generally spot-on and well balanced, but in several moments the highlights run a bit hotter than normal, which tend to clip the whites in a few spots. Black levels could have been much stronger as they are, for the most part, pretty dull and lacklustre. The high-definition transfer is not a complete loss, but it falls short of perfection, but the 3D helps to bring the action to the screen so much better, than watching it in 2D.
Blu-ray Audio Quality – On the audio side of things, the supernatural comedy arrives with a very highly enjoyable and often immersive 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack. The surround speakers are often quite active and bustling with the noise of the city, the chatter of a crowd or the hurried pace of a busy afterlife police station. Many of the quieter scenes come with some mild effects for ambience, but the action sequences are the real showstoppers, as a diverse assortment of sounds spread all around and envelope the listener with discrete directionality. Debris from explosions spread overhead, bullets whiz by discrete from the front to the back of the room and helicopters circle the room with flawless panning. In the fronts, imaging is a broad wall of sound, aided by the engaging score of Christophe Beck, which spreads evenly across the entire soundstage. Channel separation is incredibly well-balanced, as activity moves from one side of the screen to the other smoothly, and dialogue reproduction remains crystal-clear and precise in the centre. The mid-range is not hugely impressive or exceptionally dynamic, but it's detailed and distinct, allowing for every clang, pop and crack to be perfectly heard. The low-end is probably the most disappointing aspect because it often seems lacking compared to the action on screen. There's still plenty of bass to give the scenes a bit of oomph and weight, but it also seems pretty mild and tamed. Nevertheless, many find it quite exciting and I sure did.
2D Blu-ray Special Features and Extras:
Special Feature: Alternate Opening #1 [2013] [1080p] [2.35:1] [4:37] This is an alternate opening to the film is presented here, with Jeff Bridges' character locating and dealing with a "Deado" to establish the parameters of the film's world. This opening actually works a lot better than the one that was used to open the theatrical cut.
Special Feature: Alternate Opening #2 [2013] [1080p] [2.35:1] [5:29] This is another version of the alternate opening scene you viewed previously. This version gets a bit more involved and the confrontation goes a bit farther. But the end result is the same, and frankly, the first version works much better.
Special Feature: Deleted / Alternate Scenes [2013] [1080p] [2.35:1] [7:15] Here we get to view three alternate versions of existing scenes that are presented here, along with one completely deleted moment. Here is what you get to view: Alternate – Nick & Hayes To Raid; Alternate – Julia Jogging; Alternate – Made Love to my Skull and Deleted – Roy’s Partner Shot Him. As usual, you can either watch each itme separately of Play All.
Special Feature: Gag Reel [2013] [1080p] [2.35:1] [3:48] Just under 4 minutes of takes are shown here, usually involving a physical gag going wrong, followed by the actors cracking up or breaking character to make appropriate comments on the situation. To me as usual, this is a complete waste of a Blu-ray extra.
Special Feature: R.I.P.D. Motion Comics: Bringing the Avatars to Life [2013] [1080p] [1.78:1] [6:08] This is really just a collection of amazing colourful animated storyboard illustrations for various sequences in the film. What you get to view is the following: Way Less Creepy; Relax Body; I Invented This; Cowboy Stuff and I Like Violets.
Special Feature: Nick's New Avatars [2013] [1080p] [2.35:1] [1:00] This is just a collection of alternate punchlines for the film, involving what Avatar new characters will be given to Jeff Bridges and Ryan Reynolds to allow them to move in the world of the living.
Special Feature: Transferring R.I.P.D. – The Making of [2013] [1080p] [2.35:1 / 1.78:1] [8:18] This is your basic documentary type feature about the origins of the film, the casting of the roles and the behind-the-scene filming. Ryan Reynolds, who championed this film all along, notes how happy Ryan Reynolds that Jeff Bridges agreed to play the role assigned to him. You also get to see the original R.I.P.D. comic books that inspired the film. Contributors include: Mike Richardson [Producer], Phil Hay [Co-Writer], Matt Manfredi [Co-Writer], Neal H. Moritz [Producer], Ryan Reynolds [Nick], Kevin Bacon [Hayes] and Jeff Bridges [Roy].
Special Feature: Filming the Other Side [2013] [1080p] [2.35:1 / 1.78:1] [6:29] This feature covers all of the CGI special effects work done to establish the Rest in Peace Department as well as the various "Deados" in the film. Contributors include: Kevin Bacon [Hayes], Ryan Reynolds [Nick], Neal H. Moritz [Producer], Michael J. Wassel [Visual Effects Supervisor] and Alec Hammond [Production Designer].
Special Feature: Walking Among Us: Deados & Avatars [2013] [1080p] [2.35:1 / 1.78:1] [7:25] This special feature deals with the work done to create the various grotesque "Deados," and all also takes some time to talk to the two actors who play the "Avatars" for Jeff Bridges and Ryan Reynolds' characters. Contributors include: Kevin Bacon [Hayes], Jeff Bridges [Roy], Marisa Miller [Roy’s Avatar], Phil Hay [Co-Writer], Matt Manfredi [Co-Writer], Neal H. Moritz [Producer], Mary-Louise Parker [Proctor], Robert Knepper [Stanley Nawicki], Devin Ratray [Pulaski], Ryan Reynolds [Nick], Alec Hammond [Production Designer] and Michael J. Wassel [Visual Effects Supervisor].
Special Feature: Anatomy of a Shootout [2013] [1080p] [2.35:1 / 1.78:1] [7:59] This special feature covers the extensive work that went into the climactic confrontation between heroes and villains for this film. Contributors include: Alec Hammond [Production Designer], James Shelton [Key Grip], Neal H. Moritz [Producer], Michael J. Wassel [Visual Effects Supervisor], Jeff Bridges [Roy], Stephanie Szostak [Julia] and Kevin Bacon [Hayes].
Blu-ray Previews: Here we get to view eight Blu-ray Trailers and they are as follows: Jurassic Park Trilogy [2011]; Fast Five [2011]; The Bourne Legacy [2012]; Battleship [2012]; Scott Pilgrim VS. The World [2010]; Cowboys & Aliens [2011]; The Mummy [1999] and Van Helsing [2008]. As usual, you can watch each trailer separately or Play All.
Theatrical Trailers: Here you get to view five Original Theatrical Trailers and they are as follows: 2 GUNS [2013] [1080p] [2.35:1] [0:32]; The World’s End [2013] [1080p] [2.39:1] [1:00]; Despicable Me 2 [2013] [1080p] [1.78:1] [0:34]; 2 Fast 2 Furious [2003] [1080p] [2.35:1] [0:34] and Kick-Ass 2 [2013] [1080p] [2.35:1] [0:36].
BONUS: You have an amazing 3D Blu-ray Slip Cover.
Finally, this is very loosely based on the comic characters by Peter M. Lenkov and the film 'R.I.P.D.' 3D is brimming with wildly fantastic CGI marvels, sensational action sequences, and a dazzling host of colourful characters. Unfortunately, the supernatural buddy-cop fantasy is a joyless, comatose mess with leaden performances from Ryan Reynolds, Mary-Louise Parker, and Kevin Bacon, leaving Jeff Bridges to carry the film as the story's only highlight. The film debuts on Blu-ray with excellent picture quality and a great demo-worthy audio presentation. Universal provides a decent but small assortment of supplements, most of which are exclusive to the format, which really makes this Blu-ray a fun film to have and again despite all the negative reviews I have read, I personally really enjoyed the film, especially in the lovely 3D, despite some of the more wooden actors that appeared in the film and I am pleased it has now been added to my Blu-ray Collection, especially with the wonderful stunning designed 3D slip cover. If you are not sure whether to purchase this Blu-ray disc, then I suggest you rent it out to see if you like it. Highly Recommended!
Andrew C. Miller – Your Ultimate No.1 Film Aficionado
Le Cinema Paradiso
United Kingdom
