The Sci-Fi Flop is Ryan Reynolds' worst movie, according to Rotten Tomatoes

For many years, Hollywood didn't really know what to do with Ryan Reynolds. He was tried as a romantic lead, but few of his romantic films were huge successes (“Just Friends” is not really known, although “The Proposal” of 2009 did well). He also stumbled as an intense horror icon; the remake of “The Amityville Horror” didn't do him any favors. Reynolds was celebrated as a comic leader in films like “Waiting…” and “Van Wilder,” but he could only play an immature buffoon for so long. Many know about his mistakes as an action star, as films like “X-Men Origins: Wolverine” and “Green Lantern” were furiously criticized by fans and even Reynolds himself. It wouldn't be until appearances in movies like “The Voices,” “Pokémon Detective Pikachu” and of course, “Deadpool” that the star-studded star would finally become a force to be reckoned with. His 2024 movie “Deadpool & Wolverine” (which he also produced and co-wrote) grossed over $1.3 billion.

In 2013, three years before “Deadpool”, Reynolds was cast in Robert Schwentke's fantasy action “RIPD”, a film that should have worked on paper. Reynolds starred as a recently deceased cop named Nick Walker who, in the afterlife, is forced into the titular RIPD or Rest in Peace Department. The RIPD, armed with supernatural guns and shapeshifting powers, walks the world of the living to hang souls who have escaped judgment. Nick is paired with an Old West sheriff named Roycephus Pulsipher (Jeff Bridges), and – in true buddy cop fashion – they initially hate each other. Their dynamic was clearly derived from J and K (Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones) from “Men in Black”.

“RIPD” cost about $150 million to make, as it was full of wild and supernatural SFX. It was immediately met with critical disdain, garnering a mere 13% approval rating. Rotten Tomatoesmaking it Reynolds' worst film. It only made about $79 million worldwide, making it the second biggest bomb of Reynolds' career. Only “Green Lantern” lost more.

The biggest problem with “RIPD” is not its similarity to “Men in Black” (of which there are legion), but the fact that it is not funny. Reynolds is a very funny guy, but his chemistry with a crotchety Jeff Bridges never shows. There is also a fun concept that is never explored to its fullest. When the members of the RIPD arrive on Earth, they appear normal to each other, but appear as alternate avatars to everyone else. Reynolds takes the form of James Hong, an actor who was in his early 80s when the film came out, while Roycephus takes the form of Sports Illustrated and Victoria's Secret model Marisa Miller. The body swap could have raised all sorts of intriguing questions of identity and appearance, but the film mostly stops with simple gags about Nick's insecurities; he would rather not be an old man.

Most critics have emphatically slammed “RIPD,” calling it an unfunny miss. Steven Boone, writing for RogerEbert.commade the clear “Men in Black” comparison before calling it generic at heart, and incredibly derivative across the board. He just likes Mary Louise Parker as the cop back at the station handing out RIPD assignments. Manohla Dargis from the New York Times noted that Jeff Bridges was the film's only saving grace, while Richard Corliss from Time Magazine he said watching the movie was like waiting for the jury. “The movie is almost over,” he wrote. “Now I feel like I'm strapped into a hospital bed, and the TV on the wall is blasting a 'Here Comes Honey Boo-Boo' marathon, and I can't reach the remote.” Writing for the Wrap, Alonso Duralde said the film felt more at home as a “mid-1980s NBC pilot designed to take the 9:00 slot between 'Misfits of Science' and 'Manimal.'

“RIPD's” 13% approval rating is also lower than Reynolds' “Van Wilder” (18%), the 2015 body-swapping thriller “Self/Less” (also 18%), and the dark drama of ensemble “Fireflies in the Garden” (21%). As well notorious duds like “Blade: Trinity” and “Green Lantern” have approval ratings in the 25% range. “RIPD” is not even interesting bad.