22 Jump Street

If there's one criticism I have about 22 Jump Street, it's that the movie feels too similar to 21 Jump Street. But is that really a complaint? With 22 Jump Street, directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller (The LEGO Movie) have created a massively entertaining ride, with more antics from the characters we love, and better performances all around.

This time around, they're going to college. Yeah, yeah, we've heard it before. As Ice Cube says at the end of the first film, in which the two went undercover at a high school, the tables have been turned and they're going to college now. Schmidt (Jonah Hill) and Jenko (Channing Tatum) must once again go undercover at MC State to bust another drug operation, this time called WHYPHY (work hard? yes. play hard? yes.)

What worked with 21 Jump Street works again in 22 Jump Street. The excellent characters of Schmidt and Jenko are once again paired to make a hilarious and charismatic duo. Their personalities clash once more, but in a different way than the first film, and they get into even more crazy shenanigans than before. This includes having a shootout in the university library and busting a Spring Break beach party. 22 Jump Street always keeps you on edge, wondering what will happen next. While the plot is pretty standard and similar to the first film, you'll want to stick around because you love these characters so much. New characters such as Zook (Wyatt Russell) and Mercedes (Jillian Bell) feel right at home within the crazy cast. Captain Dickson (Ice Cube) is also in rare form, delivering some of the film's best moments.

This is a testament to Hill and Tatum, who put so much work into creating these characters. Jenko settles into the football team, and makes friends at a fraternity, while Schmidt performs slam poetry and does many walks of shame. Hill and Tatum are in top form. Their chemistry is better than ever, making 22 Jump Street a hilarious buddy comedy. Try not to laugh when Schmidt does slam poetry to impress a girl, I dare you.

What makes 22 Jump Street feel special is its self-referential attitude and countless meta jokes. Police chief Hardy (Nick Offerman) essentially explains why this movie was made within the first 10 minutes, saying "no one cared about the Jump Street reboot, but you guys got lucky." It's a funny way to be self-deprecating and hilarious at the same time. It plays to the audience's intelligence, rather than making them feel stupid. Other references are more subtle, like when Schmidt keeps asking about the film's budget. It all plays into a very interesting and unique humor style. While there are plenty of raunchy jokes (right in the crack), the film's best come from its self-referencing.

So, now for the all-important question: is 22 Jump Street better than the original? With its meta jokes and its excellent characterization, 22 Jump Street is a rousing success, and matches the original in sheer humor. But the plot feels too similar to the original. While this may be a fault in the film's format, a few more twists would have been appreciated. Still, 22 Jump Street is a hilarious ride, one definitely worth taking.

It's pretty easy to review this one. If you liked the first one, you're in for a treat. It holds up to the expectations and plays cleverly with 'being aware' of making basically the same movie again. The good thing about this flick is, that it doesn't take itself too seriously while at the same time delivering a good and fast paced story with quite some surprises and good action. I basically laughed from the first minute up to the (awesome!) end credits! If you like that type of comedy, this one is for you, as it delivers on point and, without a doubt, is the funniest flick this year so far! Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum have a great chemistry and you can see and feel, how they enjoyed doing this movie. Like the first one, 22 Jump Street does a great job observing the different aspects of college life, students and teachers (or professors for that matter). Everyone who's been to college can relate to those stereotypes (e.g. the pseudo intellectuals, the sport jocks, the art students etc.) and directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller ("The Lego Movie") do a great job spoofing those clichés while at same time debunk the downsides and shallowness of those groups or college life in general.

Verdict: Go see it, if you liked the first one. I can't say if it's better, but it certainly holds up. And I liked the first one pretty much. So there you go...

I watched this right after 21 jump street. This started off better for me. I was cracking at "my name is Jeff." I somehow absolutely forgot about that. I had to pause to stop laughing. I still remembered the slam poetry scene, because it felt pretty accurate lol. That's literally what I hear when someone shows me slam poetry. Weird seeing Wyatt Russell in this after seeing his roles in Monarch tv series and Night swim recently. Funniest bit was the Captains daughter bit. I don't know if I remember correctly but Kevin Hart was also sleeping with ice cube's daughter or something in 'Ride Along' too? This keeps happening to him lol. I think it was written better, still dumb and childish, but better. I loved the open relationship/investigation thing, the movie is filled with relationship metaphors throughout. It teased so many jump street sequels and I was laughing because surely your cover could be blown after so many undercover missions. Anyway I enjoyed this much more than the first, certainly got a lot more laughs out of me.

Keeping this brief, this is no doubt the funniest film I've seen since the turn of the year. Channing Tatum and Jonah Hill make a great bromance couple, and although appearing in the disappointing "Ride Along", Ice Cube too is brilliant in this film.

Expect non-stop entertainment as excellent humour is mixed with an interesting yet simple plot, heartfelt moments and exciting action. My only complaint would be that at times it felt a little recycled from the first film. Though having enjoyed that I wasn't too fussed.

More than worth your moneys worth. If you enjoyed 21 Jump Street, then you'd be mad not to see this.

All these reviews are bashing the crap out of this movie. 'It's aimless drivel and only for mindless idiots'. Well....Yeah. When I watch a comedy like this that's what I hope for. Sometime you just want to turn off your brain for an hour and a half and watch two familiar "actors" play out ridiculous but easy enough to grasp scenarios while they foolishly react. A post-viewing critique is pointless because the directors have no intention of it being able to hold up on creative or any kind of artistic merit. If you want to think about what you're watching, or enjoy good story development, or simply see some great acting then there are plenty of movies like Rashomon, Eraserhead, The Man from Earth, Memories of Murder, Hitchcock films, Miyszaki films, or something like Life Is Beautiful or It's A Wonderful Life(I forget which is which, both great). And there's nothing wrong with a good documentary know and then either. But something good and properly stupid can be just the right thing when you need to take a respite. Not all comedies are going to be a quipping Woody Allen flicks. It's really about getting a good balance in your movies types and picking the right one for your current mood. In other words this movie is just what it intends to be and just what wanted it to be. Pure and easy entertainment.

...Now I'm going to get my Audrey Hepburn on and watch My Fair Lady.