R.I.P.D.: 5 Ways the Summer Flick Loves the '90s!

If only we had a time machine this buddy cop sci-fi would totally be a hit two decades ago

By Peter Paras Jul 22, 2013 12:05 AMTags
R.I.P.D.Universal Pictures

Jeff Bridges and Ryan Reynolds team up for a buddy-cop flick with otherworldly pursuits. After Nick (Reynolds) gets gunned-down by a dirty cop, the afterlife offers him a job in the Rest In Peace Department. Now tasked with retrieving the dead who have snuck back into the world of the living, Nick along with cowboy partner Roy, must protect the Earth and bring his killer to justice. Roy and Nick are the "they," the Men In Black. Or at least, a very close facsimile. Despite the harsh reviews and disappointing box office, R.I.P.D. could have been a hit...If it been released in the 1990s.

Here's why R.I.P.D. would have been a must-see just a couple of decades ago:

VIDEO: Ryan Reynolds talks nearly barfing while doing stunts on the set of R.I.P.D.

Universal Pictures

1. The Men in Black Comparison, Obviously. We'd go so far as to say this heaven's cops alternate to the franchise starring Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones is better than MiB's underwhelming sequels. The in-jokes, the massive headquarters with huge backdrops (harkening back to '94's Coen brothers flick The Hudsucker Proxy), and all those special gadgets all feel very out of place in the 21st century, but would be simply an ironic, jagged little pill back then. Even their ride feels just like the '87 Crown Victoria Jones drove in '97.

Universal Pictures

4. The Dude, Sorta. With a penchant for long-winded speeches, eccentric hair and way laid back shades, Roy feels like some kind of wink to Bridges' career-defining stint as The Dude in, oh hey, another '90s Coens flick: The Big Lebowski! Jeff, where's your beverage, man?!

Universal Pictures

5. Lo Pan Returns! As Nick roams the living he doesn't look like Ryan Reynolds anymore. Nick now appears as an old Chinese dude played by none other than by veteran actor James Hong. (Roy looks like a hot blonde model.) Hong starred in a number of flicks in the '80s and '90s. Our favorite was as the villain in John Carpenter's Big Trouble in Little China. Any excuse to put Hong back on the big screen works for us.