Predictable R.I.P.D. gets the sideways thumb

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      Starring Jeff Bridges, Ryan Reynolds, and Mary-Louise Parker. Rated PG. Now playing

      In R.I.P.D., Ryan Reynolds and Jeff Bridges play members of the Rest in Peace Department, which is made up of dead law-enforcement officers whose postexpiry reward involves hunting down shape-shifting evildoers who want to destroy Earth, as a form of atonement for various sins. It seems that both Nick (Reynolds) and Roy (Bridges) have a lot to make up for.

      Nick—a former Boston cop—is a rookie on the R.I.P.D. His ticket to heaven is on hold, thanks to the fact that his former partner (Kevin Bacon) talked him into withholding evidence back in the land of the living. The evidence, it turns out, was a fortune in gold. When Nick wanted to come clean, his partner killed him.

      Nick’s redemption comes with strings attached: he must team up with the cantankerous Roy, an R.I.P.D. veteran whose last earthly duty as a peace officer involved wearing a badge in the Old West. When the pair is sent down to Boston on special assignment, all Nick can think about is getting revenge on his partner and hanging out with his grieving wife (Stephanie Szostak).

      The problem? Both Nick and Roy must take on different bodily forms when they’re down on Earth. The wily Roy—with Bridges in full True Grit mode—takes on the visage of a gorgeous supermodel (Marisa Miller), while Nick assumes the form of an Asian grandfather (veteran character actor James Hong).

      Based on a comic book—and credited to several screenwriters—the script isn't particularly original. (Imagine Men in Black with a touch of Ghostbusters and Heaven Can Wait tossed in for good measure.) Still, director Robert Schwentke keeps things moving along briskly, and the 3-D effects are kind of cool. As long as you don’t mind a movie that’s completely predictable from start to finish, there’s plenty of familiar fun to be had here.

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