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 romance films were enormous hits (“Just Friends” isn’t really well known, although 2009’s “The Proposal” 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 comedic lead in films like “Waiting…” and “Van Wilder,” but he could only play an immature buffoon for so long. Many know of his missteps as an action star, as films like “X-Men Origins: Wolverine” and “Green Lantern” have been wildly lambasted by fans and even Reynolds himself. It wouldn’t be until performances in films like “The Voices,” “Pokémon Detective Pikachu,” and of course, “Deadpool” that the destined-for-stardom star would finally become a force to be reckoned with. His 2024 film “Deadpool & Wolverine” (which he also produced and co-wrote) made over $1.3 billion.
In 2013, three years before “Deadpool,” Reynolds was cast in Robert Schwentke’s fantasy actioner “R.I.P.D.,” a film that should have worked on paper. Reynolds starred as a recently deceased cop named Nick Walker who, in the afterlife, is forcibly inducted into the titular R.I.P.D. or Rest in Peace Department. The R.I.P.D., armed with supernatural guns and shape-shifting powers, trek into the world of the living to apprehend souls who have escaped judgement. 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.”
“R.I.P.D.” cost about $150 million to make, as it was chock-full of wild, supernatural SFX. It was immediately met with critical scorn, racking up a mere 13% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, making it Reynolds’ worst-reviewed movie. It made only about $79 million worldwide, making it the second-biggest bomb in Reynolds’ career. Only “Green Lantern” lost more.