Of all the films released in the summer of 2013, the one that everyone seemed to agree on -in a very negative way- was R.I.P.D.

Boasting a -there’s no other way to describe it- terrible 13% positive among critics and a slightly higher, yet still pretty bad 39% positive among audiences in rottentomatoes.com, it’s hardly a wonder the film died a quick death at the box office while also receiving horrible word of mouth.

So naturally, now that I’ve seen it, there’s just no chance I’d actually like it, right?

Well….

Let’s just say I fell into the 13%.

I’m not trying to be Mr. Contrarian.  For the record, I’m not a huge fan of actors Ryan Reynolds or Jeff Bridges, the movie’s two leads.  Let me quickly add that neither do I hate their work.  They’ve been in movies I’ve enjoyed along with movies I haven’t, which makes them like pretty much 99.9% of the actors out there.

Moving along, I’m also not at all familiar with the comic books this film was based on.  I haven’t read a single page of an R.I.P.D. book and have, even now, no idea at all who the creators/artists were behind it.  Finally, I’m all too aware of the biggest -and most appropriate- knock against this film, that its concept/plot was clearly “inspired” -the kindest description one can use- by the Men In Black movies.  In MIB, you had a secret police force walking among humanity and dealing with outrageous aliens.  In R.I.P.D. you have a secret police force comprised of dead people dealing with outrageous dead people.

When the film was released last summer, it barely made it on my radar.  I saw the commercials and thought they looked “OK” at best, but didn’t have a strong desire to see the film. After it tanked and following its release to video, I didn’t bother putting it on my Netflix que.  It was one of hundreds of films that I simply had no big interest in seeing and, given how little free time I have to see the films I actually want to see, figured I’d never get around to it.

Yet over this past weekend, my cable company was offering a free preview of HBO and Cinemax.  Through this I caught a few minutes of R.I.P.D.  What I saw…didn’t suck.

In fact, I thought it wasn’t all that bad at all.

I checked the guide and found the film was scheduled to air a few more times before the preview period was over so I set my DVR and, last night, my wife and I sat down and gave it a try.  I warned my wife in advance that the film bombed upon its release and was trashed by critics and audiences alike.  We agreed that if the film became a chore to watch, we’d turn it off immediately.

We didn’t.

We watched the film from start to end and, while I wouldn’t say the film was the best sci-fi/action/comedy I’ve ever seen, it wasn’t anywhere near as bad as so many said it was.

Yes, the film’s concept shamelessly ripped off MIB.  And while not all the jokes hit their target, the movie had very little fat, moving along like lightning while presenting humorous bits and average to quite good CGI effects.  Finally, Mary-Louise Parker was hilarious as Proctor, the head of the R.I.P.D. division.

R.I.P.D. clearly was not made with the idea of winning Academy Awards. Neither was it meant to be startlingly creative in its conception.  No, this film was meant to be a summer popcorn film, a pleasant time killer, and I’ll be damned if it didn’t accomplish its goal.

Perhaps people weren’t in the right mood for something like this when it was released.  Perhaps people couldn’t stomach a film that so brazenly lifted another film’s concept (like no other movies have done the same!).  Perhaps everyone was looking for a reason to hate on Ryan Reynolds.  I don’t know.

All I know is that I’ve seen plenty of summer blockbusters beloved by audiences and critics alike that I’ve enjoyed far less than R.I.P.D.  Give it a try and watch it with an open mind.  You may be surprised.