Based entirely on Rotten Tomatoes scores, 2013’s R.I.P.D. can inarguably be called the worst movie of Ryan Reynolds’ entire career after scraping together an embarrassing 13 percent score on the aggregation site.
It’s also one of the biggest box office bombs of the last decade, having earned a shade over $78 million from theaters on a budget estimated to be as high as $150 million, with Universal losing anywhere up to $100 million once the numbers had been crunched. Naturally, then, a bargain basement prequel arriving nine years later makes total sense.
R.I.P.D. 2: Rise of the Damned has no reason to exist, but it does, and it’s become a major hit on Netflix into the bargain. For unknown reasons, the 1876-set origin story for Roy Pulsipher (formerly Jeff Bridges, but now played by Jeffrey Donovan) has become the third most-watched movie among subscribers in the United States, as per FlixPatrol.
After being killed in a shootout with an outlaw gang, Roy gets recruited by the titular Rest in Peace Department in order to avenge his own death. However, a gateway to hell ends up being opened in the very same town in which he met his demise, a coincidental turn of events that threatens to end humanity as we know it.
Low budget sequels to established properties are one thing, but turning a cataclysmic flop into a multi-film series is a questionable call to say the least. Then again, Rise of the Damned does seem to be drawing in the crowds on streaming.