22 Jump Street

Quickie Review:

After a successful undercover drug bust operation in high school, Schmidt (Jonah Hill) and Jenko (Channing Tatum) get their next big assignment. Now in the sequel 22 Jump Street, as Ice Cube so eloquently put it, these "two sons of b***hes are going to college." As the cop duo take on yet another drug ring, they go through multitude of ridiculous yet hilarious situations. In doing so, there are some formulaic traps that the movie does fall into. Despite that, it is just an incredible ride with non-stop laughter and great comedic chemistry between the lead actors. This is a must-see for fans of 21 Jump Street and people who generally like to laugh.

Full Review:

The original movie, 21 Jump Street, was a surprise hit back in 2012. It was a movie filled with many belly aching moments of laughter. For that reason, of all the comedies of 2014 this sequel may be the most anticipated, at least it was for me. So the question is: does it deliver on the high expectations? And the answer is: oh hell yes it does.

There is one absolute in this franchise that no one will dispute, the chemistry between Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum is incredible. As soon as their on screen you immediately start smiling, just because you feel the need to prepare yourself for something amusing. Then when they do go about their shenanigans, numerous twists and turns occur that are fun to watch unfold, to hilarious effect. The jokes are fast paced and relentless, without it being tiresome. More importantly the comedy is actually clever, even during some of the scenarios the are more stupid due to some absurdity. The combination of the comedic duo and the intelligent humor work flawlessly, making the flick all the more entertaining. As great as the two leads are with their comedic timing, I need to especially mention Ice Cube. I won't spoil anything of course, but there are points in this movie where Ice Cube actually steals the scenes he is in. I'd pay the full movie ticket price just to see that dynamic between Ice Cube and the two leads. It is that good.

I do recognize there are some faults with 22 Jump Street. It did stick with the philosophy of "if it ain't broke, don't fix it." In that sense, the general story plot is pretty much the same as the original movie. 22 Jump Street is self-aware of what it is, and pokes fun of itself for being a sequel that follows the formula. However, addressing this fault in that comedic way will not be enough for everyone to forgive it. Still, I think this is something that you can easily look past because of how enjoyable the movie is.

The one purpose of a comedy is to make you laugh, and 22 Jump Street fulfills that requirement consistently throughout the movie. By throughout the movie, I mean even during the credits. Your cheeks will have a good exercise, because mine were in pain with all the laughing. It is well worth your time and money, so don't miss out on this one. If they keep this up I will be there even at 1022 Jump Street.

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.

Usually remakes aren't very good, with many bombing and being outshone by the original version. But to everyone's surprise 21 Jump Street was a hit, earning 200 million and giving the careers of both Hill and Tatum a big boost to two already big names. Then just like any action, the producers decided to throw more money at the same people hoping for the same result. Usually all this leads to is everything being the same but with more explosions and a bigger pay-check to get the same people back.. Well, that's exactly what 22 Jump Street also does, with as much as possible remaining just the same. The difference being that it's honest about it, with the entire film mocking the regular clichés.

Even the outline of the plot mocks the regular concept of every sequel. Hill and Tatum are constantly reminded to do everything the exact same as last time at every chance they get to say it. The logic being since it worked last time, it'll work again. Only this time they'll throw more money at it to better ensure success. Because increasing the budget is certain to increase the profit. This is one of the many self aware jokes that the film keeps throwing at us. Usually staying fixed on joking that it's a sequel would get repetitive after a while, but the film just keeps handling it in different ways to keep the laughs coming.

It works because of the clever writing which parodies every detail of an action sequel, keeping the jokes fresh and original. They'll make a joke out of everything from the fact that things getting destroyed in car chases costs a lot in the budget to even John Woo's doves being randomly thrown in. At times some of the jokes don't work quite as well, but there's enough hilarious moments packed in to make sure the laughs keep coming and mocks every possible detail of the action sequel.

On top of this, the actors know how to make the jokes work with all the actors having the same charm as last time. Ice Cube gets his angry boss role down to the note, mastering the angry stare and yelling almost every line of dialogue he gets. The cameos from the villains be as over the top as you can get. And just like before, both Hill and Tatum bring their A game in their ultimate bromance together. It was one of the key elements of the first film and the actors chemistry remains just as funny and enjoyable here. If anything more so here, with their conversations growing more like a married couple and a lot more opportunities to be hilariously over the top.

Which is the main reason that 22 Jump Street is one of the few sequels that's better than the original. It's everything that 21 Jump Street was, just bigger and better. With the likes of this, Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs and the Lego Movie it's clear that Lord and Miller are quickly becoming 2 of the biggest and best names in comedy using both slapstick and mocking clichés to keep the laughs coming strong. I don't know whether they intend to do any more sequels, but as long as they maintain the consistently funny films that they have so far I can only hope that they make as many jump streets as they can.

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.

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.