R.I.P.D (12A)

As regular readers will know, given the choice here at Popcorn Towers we opt for films in 2D - as nature intended - rather than sitting in a darkened room wearing sunglasses.

While this allows us to watch a film without getting eye strain, it also makes it interesting spotting where the added dimension is being thrown in. A flying car here, burning embers there... you know the drill.

Sadly, this is one of the highlights of watching R.I.P.D. In fact it would make a good drinking game - every time you spot a bit that you think was only put in for the 3D effect, you get to take a swig. Should liven the film up no end.

Although, to be fair, you don't need alcohol to enjoy R.I.P.D. It'll help, sure, but there is enough fun knocking about to keep you entertained. As long as you don't think about it too much.

Based on the Dark Horse comic Rest In Peace Department, R.I.P.D is about dead people hunting down deader people in order for alive people to go about being alive without stuff happening to them. Should be a hoot.

And in some ways it is. Jeff Bridges, as Roy, is clearly having fun. Hamming it up in full True Grit western mode, he's chewing up the scenery like the seasoned pro he is. No depth here, no subtle nuances, just a cowboy who likes talking about how he died and shooting things. Has a few good gags too.

Kevin Bacon (once you get over the feeling he could try and sell you a phone at any moment) is equally fine as Hayes, the corrupt cop who sends Ryan Reynolds to the R.I.P.D.  Sure, he's not exactly stretching himself, but he doesn't need to. He's not playing Hamlet here.

Unfortunately, that leaves Reynolds as Nick. Never a hugely charismatic screen presence, playing a cop who got shot by his partner and ended up on the other side, as it were, shouldn't really need that much 'oomph'. Which is handy, as he doesn't have any.

Sadly, he's up against two actors who - even when they're not trying - leave him trailing in the dust. Even the ever lovely Mary-Louise Parker, who is pretty much over-doing it for giggles - outshines him.

Poor old Ryan. At some point he might take the hint and leave the comic book movie world alone (for the love of all that's good, don't let him near Deadpool).

The story here deviates from the source material. Where, on the page, Nick is searching for whoever killed him, here on screen he knows from the off. I can understand why, from a dramatic point of view, they've made the change - but I can also understand why the die-hard fans could be miffed.

But none of these - the changed story, the performances - are what's wrong with this film.

It's not that it's terrible - it is kinda fun, ish - but it feels like while they were busy adding the extra dimension, they forgot to pay attention to a key detail.

As an audience, we understand how this works - it's a comic book world. This is not in any way real. It can't be replicated on a set. So you turn to your CGI wizzos. And you need them to be good.

What you don't need is to be sitting in the cinema, watching what should be large amounts of metallic machinery moving about, thinking it looks like it was drawn by a toddler using Paint.

Equally, when the actors are walking through a world that is being painted in later (and to be fair, they all manage to make it look like they believe they're where they're going to be when it's all finished) - paint it in well. Reynolds is supposed to walking on nothing. NOT a coloured-in floor.

Then there's the use of the avatars.

It's a quirk of the story that, once dead, you can't appear as yourself to the real world. So, when you're on earth, you look like someone else. In this case, a small Chinese guy in a hat (Nick, played well by James Hong) and one of the most desirable women alive (Roy, played by Victoria's Secret model Marissa Miller).

There are jokes to be had with this - and some are done well. But it needs to be used consistently. It really doesn't help the audience when Nick is trying to talk to his widow at his own funeral, and she's reacting like a stranger is harassing her, if all we see is Reynold's pretty fizzog. For the gag to work, we need to see Man In Hat.

And it's these little things that let the film down.

Sure the story's a bit hokey, but it's about dead people policing stuff. It needs to make sense, sure (and it struggles with that at times) but reality going out of the window is a given.

What you do need, though, is clear, consistent story-telling.

Suddenly dropping a mystical artifact into the mix after an hour smacks of desperation. It screams that no one had an ending for this film and got desperate. Even Ms Parker looks like she can't believe what' she's saying at that point.

But, despite all that is wrong with this film, I didn't hate it.

I know it's been kicked all over town - particularly over at comicbookmovie.com - and it has bombed massively Stateside, but if you go in expecting nothing you won't be disappointed. And you might even enjoy it.

There are some laughs (not as many as there should be, sure), there's a good car chase, Bridges is just wonderful, Parker is great... There ARE things to be enjoyed here. You've just got to disengage brain to see them.

My suspicion is that R.I.P.D - along with The Lone Ranger - will, in time find its audience. And they will love it and defend it to the hilt. They'll get upset when you point out it tries to invoke Ghostbusters and Ghost, sure, but that's because they know you're right.

But leave them alone. Be kind. They're not hurting anyone. Loving movies is all about having that one guilty pleasure no one else understands. R.I.P.D is set to be one of them.