I wanted to see this movie when it first came out, but after it got a drubbing by the critics and the viewers I stayed away from it. Despite the casting of Jeff Bridges and Ryan Reynolds, this one didn’t hit with the audiences.

But I finally gave in, and checked it out. And honestly I found it to be a really fun popcorn movie. It’s basically Men In Black with ghosts and monsters, but if you go into it knowing what you’re getting, then you’ll probably enjoy it. Honestly, it was so close to Men In Black, you almost recognize the beats of the first film, but the cast make this shine.

Reynolds is Nick, a Boston police officer who is killed by his partner, dirty cop, Hayes (Kevin Bacon). He leaves behind the love of his life, Julia (Stephanie Szostak), but on his way to judgement, which may not go well for him considering some of his own actions as a cop, he gets pulled aside by Proctor (Mary-Louise Parker – huge crush!) and recruited into the Rest In Peace Department.

He is paired up with a marshal from the 1800s, Roy (Bridges) and the pair have all the makings of an enjoyable supernatural buddy-cop film. With the casting of Bacon, you know he’s going to be instrumental in the rest of the story, but there’s also the hilarious casting of Nick and Roy’s visual representations on earth, Nick looks like an old Chinese man (James freaking Hong!), and Roy is a stunning blonde (Marisa Miller).

Looking for deados the pair stumble on a plot that would let the dead return from the beyond, and overrun Earth, and they would never have to face eternal judgment.

There’s fun action beats, some fun banter, but the visual effects aren’t always as solid as they could have been.

I think this one could have gotten a bad rep upon release. I really enjoyed this one, but I like the entire cast, and the idea. Was it great? No. But was it a perfectly enjoyable popcorn movie to spend an evening at home with? Hell yes. A reliable cast, a familiar story, and a sense of fun about it? What’s not to enjoy.

I think people either expected too much of it, or were put off by its perceived proximity to the Men In Black franchise. Having said that, I certainly wouldn’t recommend checking out the sequel, which is in fact a prequel. Just enjoy this as a one off and move along.

Bridges! Hong! Reynolds! Parker! come on!! That’s worth it right there.