It has been almost ten years since the last “R.I.P.D.” film was released. Now, the famous action-packed yet hilarious movie’s long-awaited sequel has arrived. “R.I.P.D. 2: Rise of the Damned” is here with more supernatural action, only this time the film is based on a man named Roy (Jeffrey Donovan) from the Wild West. We know him as the angry sheriff who wields two guns in the first movie.
“R.I.P.D. 2: Rise of the Damned” explains what the R.I.P.D. department used to look like before the current R.I.P.D. In the first film, it is shown as a massive police station; however, it didn’t always look that way. The department in this movie only has a small room for transportation between the real world and the small department. But is the film better than “R.I.P.D.” or is it a flop?
Roy, the town sheriff, is supposedly the best shooter in the Wild West and has been driving off the bandits from his town to keep his people safe. While welcoming his daughter and her fiancé at the train station, he encounters bandits who won’t die and ends up dead himself trying to save everyone. As he dies, he is sent to the R.I.P.D. department because he has specific skills they want from him since he knows the Wild West area like no one else. He is forced to partner up with a woman named Jeanne (Penelope Mitchell). Jeanne is Joan of Arc, who died during Viking time and preferred to fight with a sword. Jeanne explains to Roy that their new identities were meant to help them blend into the time period and allow them to go to places they couldn’t travel in their real body, given that they’re both dead. They also cannot reveal their true natures as if they try it will come out as gibberish to humans. They’re given a mission to investigate Red Creek, a town with an old mine. However, they’re led on a wild goose chase for Roy’s killer and information about Red Creek. They meet a man named Slim (Jake Choi) who supposedly killed Roy and is not a living human being. He is called a Deado, and Deados can’t die in normal ways. Only R.I.P.D. weapons can kill them. These Deados also do not look like the Deados we know from “R.I.P.D.” They look more like fiery shadow demons rather than monsters. Slim denies that he killed Roy and tries to prove his innocence- but can he prove it, or will he still end up dead at the hands of Roy and Jeanne? The answer lies in the film. But they must first save the world from the Red Creek old mines.
“R.I.P.D. 2: Rise of the Damned” is disappointing because we remember “R.I.P.D.” as a great movie full of action, humor and a lot of fight scenes. It did not have the same action-packed story, and the plot fell short. The fight scenes were mediocre at best because there were not many Deados out murdering nor were there more R.I.P.D. people helping Roy and Jeanne save the world from potential trouble. However, I found some scenes in the movie funny, including Roy’s moments with Slim while investigating Red Creek. I did not enjoy this movie as much as I enjoyed watching “R.I.P.D.” It felt like it was missing the flair of what Roy was like in the first film; in this film, he was downgraded. I wouldn’t recommend this film unless you want to watch it just for fun or as background noise.
“R.I.P.D. 2: Rise of the Damned” is available on Netflix and Blu-Ray.
By Ayla Hooper