Audiences and critics alike weren't on board though, as the movie definitely tanked at the box office during opening week. That's alright, because we were going to see it anyway. Was it disappointing? Not really: but the movie was capable of so much more. It had a lot of potential and I'm merely disappointed that it didn't take advantage of the framework that it laid down (or ripped off from MiB). Instead, it was a decent and short romp that will soon be forgotten and never heard from again. The terrible box office performance all but guarantees that no sequel will be produced, which is unfortunate as there could be some good story to be told here.
1. It's a comedy, but relies too heavily on one joke: that the main characters are dead, yes, but inhabit avatars that look nothing like themselves (a "super hot" blonde and an old Chinese man). I swear, every scene made reference to this, and it gets a bit tired.
2. Roy's (Jeff Bridges) death story has so much potential, but is squandered. In MiB, Tommy Lee Jones' character (Kay) has some emotional weight and mystery, that adds a bit of depth to not only his character, but the film itself as shown through his great dynamic with Jay (Will Smith) - it's what really makes the film work. In R.I.P.D Roy's character is kind of flat, although kudos to Bridges for doing something different and interesting. When it comes down to it, we find out how Roy dies but it's a joke that gets repeated (again) and lacks any real substance. Kay's background comes around full circle by the end of the trilogy, and invokes an emotional response from us viewers, something that RIPD doesn't do even in the slightest. Which brings us to the third point:3. The characters are not emotionally involving. I'm not sure if this is because I wasn't able to relate to them in any way, or if they just weren't fleshed out very well.
4. The dead-o's, or monsters, didn't look that great. Again, this is a situation where there was lots of potential, but I couldn't get over two things. One, they looked like Play-Doh; just poor CGI perhaps but they lacked any weight and were a jumbled mess of flesh. Two, I didn't understand why they looked the way they did, aside from getting creative with monster design. Wouldn't it be interesting if they took on a form that was related to they way they originally died? I didn't see much of that, especially in the "final boss" transformation.
5. The 3D was poor. Like, really bad. My friend complained about it and said it was beginning to make him feel nauseous. I noticed it a bit too. Granted, this could be the theatre's problem with the projection, but I can't help but think it was a rush 2D -> 3D conversion for a film that execs saw - upon completion - didn't warrant a lot of extra financial investment. I wish they would just keep it 2D.
For a movie that seemed to be ripped from Men in Black (both of which are based on comics, mind you) I wish RIPD borrowed a bit more. Perhaps the magic just wasn't there. I certainly believe this film deserves a bit more than the 10% Tomatometer rating and poor box office results.
No comments:
Post a Comment