3. R.I.P.D. (RIP-OFF)
While it’s nowhere near as prolific as The Mortal Instruments, R.I.P.D. does ape the Men in Black franchise quite spectacularly. Ryan Reynolds plays Will Smith’s young, brash agent role as a carbon copy, breaking all the rules until one mistake lands him in a strange, bureaucratic office overseen by a sarcastic, female Rip Torn wannabee.
The pitch for R.I.P.D. must have literally been, “It’s Men in Black, but they’re dead.” Reynolds’s Will Smith knock-off is partnered with a curmudgeonly older agent (Jeff Bridges, playing Tommy Lee Jones’s part with even more crustiness) and tasked with taking down supernatural beings. Predictably loopy chase scenes ensue, but the Men in Black references don’t stop there. Old cars, ridiculous weaponry, pointless bantering and a “Come on, guys, let’s go save the world” hook all factor in to R.I.P.D.‘s plot.
It was dead on arrival at the box-office, and for good reason – moviegoers were smart enough to see this rip-off for what it was and turn it down. In an ironic twist, R.I.P.D. will get its just desserts in 2015, when DreamWorks Animation releases B.O.O.: Bureau of Otherworldly Operations, which is literally just an animated version of R.I.P.D. for kids. And who ever said there were no happy endings in Hollywood?
