R.I.P.D. 2: Rise of the Damned (2022)

R.I.P.D. 2: Rise of the Damned earns its keep by shrinking the concept into something punchier and more charming: a supernatural Western with a pulpy, campfire-at-midnight vibe and a surprisingly brisk sense of forward motion. Jeffrey Donovan gives Roy Pulsipher a gruff, human center, and pairing him with a Joan of Arc partner turns the afterlife-cop premise into an odd-couple dynamic that’s more fun than it has any right to be. The action is clean, the jokes land often enough, and the whole thing feels like a lean origin story that knows it’s here to entertain, not to build a sprawling mythology. If you want slick, big-budget spectacle, this isn’t that—but if you’re in the mood for a scrappy, spooky-funny ride with demons at the edge of town, it’s an easy watch.

R.I.P.D. 2: Rise of the Damned wants to be a pulpy, supernatural buddy-cop romp with a Western-tinged afterlife twist, and you can see the intention to keep things light while tossing in demons, shootouts, and one-liners. The problem is the movie’s lore and backstory feel oddly rewritten and hard to follow, so instead of building momentum it often plays like a bargain-bin prequel that’s checking boxes rather than telling a story you’ll care about. The middle stretch gets cluttered and complicated without getting more exciting, which makes the whole thing feel a bit disposable even when the action picks up. If you’re just after PG-13 monster mayhem and don’t mind thin characters and messy mythology, Jeffrey Donovan brings some sturdy, likable energy—but if you want coherent world-building or comedy that really lands, this probably isn’t worth your time.