If you liked 'Men in Black,' check out the 'R.I.P.D.' trailer

Posted Friday, April 19, 2013 at 4:22 PM Central
Last updated Tuesday, April 23, 2013 at 1:46 PM Central

by John Couture

Based on a comic book? Check.

Big wacky guns? Check.

Horribly cartoonish bad guys? Check.

A curmudgeonly older partner? Check.

A wise-cracking new guy on the force? Check.

Saving the world from annihilation? Check.

If you think I'm describing Men in Black, you'd be wrong. The movie I was thinking of is the upcoming film R.I.P.D. The acronym stands for "Rest In Peace Department" and if you swap out aliens for dead people, you've pretty much got the same movie.

The first trailer for R.I.P.D. dropped this week and while I've been optimistic about the film's chances, I'm wondering if people will backlash against it for being too much like Men in Black. Like Men in Black, I think R.I.P.D. can either be great or horrible depending on the execution.

The former delivered three strong films and from the first look at the latter, I'm willing to give it the benefit of the doubt for now. I like the pairing of Jeff Bridges as the grizzled vet and Ryan Reynolds as the recently deceased getting acclimated to his new surroundings.

What we don't see in the trailer is the story line that revolves around Ryan Reynolds using his new lot in the afterlife to track down the guy who killed him. This could a crucial plot point that could help to differentiate it from Men in Black.

At the end of the day, I don't really care too much. I love the Men in Black movies, so more films in that similar vein is fine by me. I'm not sure if it will be successful enough to launch a slew of sequels, but that's OK, because I'm not really sure where you can go from here.

But, it is based on a comic book, so I'm sure there are plenty of story arcs to choose from if audiences clamor for more. Check out the trailer below, R.I.P.D. hits theaters on July 19.