R.I.P.D. parents guide

R.I.P.D. Parent Guide

Rounding up all the usual elements for a buddy cop movie, "R.I.P.D." plays out pretty much by the book.

Overall C

Anyone who thinks police officers killed in the line of duty get to rest in peace should think again. It turns out these slain heroes simply get reassigned. Now, as immortal beings, they return to Earth to capture other un-dead foes and fight unsolved crimes.

Release date July 19, 2013

Violence C-
Sexual Content C-
Profanity C-
Substance Use B+

Why is R.I.P.D. rated PG-13? The MPAA rated R.I.P.D. PG-13 for violence, sci-fi/fantasy action, some sensuality, and language including sex references

Run Time: 96 minutes

Official Movie Site

Parent Movie Review

Nick Walker’s (Ryan Reynolds) life seems perfect—a beautiful wife (Stephanie Szoztak), a little house and an orange tree in the backyard. But that all changes when his partner (Kevin Bacon) on the police force shoots him in the face.

When Nick “wakes up” from the murder, he discovers he is being reassigned to R.I.P.D. (Rest In Peace Department). As a new rookie, he is handed over to Roy (Jeff Bridges), an Old Wild West marshal who has been protecting the streets of Boston from the undead for decades. He talks tough, he talks straight and he talks dirty. Luckily the sexually charged dialogue is mitigated somewhat by the fact that Roy, who speaks like he has a mouth full of marbles, isn’t always easy to understand.

The job of this new partnership is to maintain a balance between the living and the dead by hunting down these baddies who disguise themselves as normal looking humans—at least until their true identity is revealed. Then they morph into grotesque and gruesome monsters.

If R.I.P.D. feels familiar, it may be the haunting similarity to another undercover law enforcement agency—Men In Black. And it’s not just the combination of a cranky mentor and an inexperienced tenderfoot. These officers, like Agents Kay and Jay, use big guns and questionable tactics to keep the undead from taking over the world.

Although Roy is happy enough to round up the offenders and bring them in, he’s even happier to have an excuse to vaporize them with his special bullets. Nick on the other hand, believes in a more investigative approach. When he begins to suspect something big is brewing in Boston, he applies the police skills he learned while alive.

While the new partnership gets off to a rocky start, the two officers eventually learn to appreciate one another’s style. But not before there has been an armory of ammunition unleashed. Fortunately the carnage remains relatively bloodless since these bad guys turn into a puff of swirling black smoke when they are shot. Yet in spite of the comedic tone of this film, frequent portrayals of shooting, punching, explosions and car accident, along with some frightening images of monsters and a gruesome stabbing, push the violence to uncomfortable levels for family viewing. The script’s frequent profanities and crude sexual content also mar this sci-fi adventure where everything is not as it appears.

Rounding up all the usual elements for a buddy cop movie, R.I.P.D. plays out pretty much by the book. If you were hoping for something more for the price of your ticket, you might come away feeling a little ripped off.

Directed by Robert Schwentke. Starring Ryan Reynolds, Jeff Bridges, Mary-Louise Parker, Kevin Bacon. Running time: 96 minutes. Theatrical release July 19, 2013. Updated

R.I.P.D.
Rating & Content Info

Why is R.I.P.D. rated PG-13? R.I.P.D. is rated PG-13 by the MPAA for violence, sci-fi/fantasy action, some sensuality, and language including sex references

Violence: Characters are shot, vaporized, punched, stabbed and crushed by cars. One man is shot in the face and killed. Others are injured or killed in explosions. Officers tussle with a man who is causing a disturbance at a funeral. Characters jump out of the window of a large building. One character is thrown in front of a bus and another is hit by a car. Extensive property damage occurs. Characters morph into grotesque monsters. A person is dragged along behind one of the undead. A character is repeatedly crushed with a rock and then hit in the head with cement blocks.

Sexual Content: Frequent and crude sexual dialogue and innuendo are used. Rude comments are made to a man in a towel who then drops his towel and exposes himself (no frontal nudity is shown). A married woman wearing a t-shirt and panties cuddles and kisses her husband in bed. A man is kicked in the groin. A female character wears a cleavage revealing dress. A man makes sexually suggestive comments to a woman. Characters discuss porn, lap dances and other crude sexual activities.

Language: The script contains a partial use of a crude sexual expletive, a rude hand gesture, frequent profanities, scatological slang, vulgarities, crude name-calling and cursing. Sexually suggestive dialogue and crass terms for anatomy are also heard.

Alcohol / Drug Use: Characters morph into monsters after sniffing a common household spice.

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R.I.P.D. Parents' Guide

How does this film portray the afterlife? Do you envision it as a working place or a place of eternal rest? What kind of penance do these characters have to pay? Why?

Is Roy a stereotypical Old West law officer? What issues does he have to deal with in the afterlife? What do Nick and Roy learn from each other?

Home Video

The most recent home video release of R.I.P.D. movie is October 29, 2013. Here are some details…

Home Video Notes: R.I.P.D.

Release Date: 29 October 2013

R.I.P.D. releases to home video (Blu-ray/DVD/Ultraviolet Digital Copy and Blu-ray 3D/Blu-ray/DVD/Ultraviolet Digital Copy) with the following extras:

- Alternate Scenes: Nick & Hayes to Raid, Julia Jogging & Made to My Skull

- Deleted Scene: Roy’s Partner Shot Him

- Gag Reel

- Transfering R.I.P.D: A “Making Of” that focuses on the adaption of the original R.I.P.D. comic and the stellar cast that came to inhabit the characters

- Two Alternate Openings

- R.I.P.D. Motion Comics: Bringing the Avatars to Life

- Nick’s New Avatars: See the other Avatar contenders for Nick and Hayes (Kevin Bacon)

- Filming the Other Side: The cast and crew talk about Schwentke’s unique filming technique

- Walking Among Us: Deados & Avatars

- Anatomy of a Shootout

Related home video titles:

Another awkward partnership is commissioned with saving mankind in Men In Black 3. Jeff Bridges takes on villains in cyberspace in the movies Tron and Tron: Legacy. Ryan Reynolds plays a character given extraordinary powers in order to save the human race in the Green Lantern.