By: Robert Murphy
We all know how it goes when a sequel to a hit comedy comes along and of course with a movie like 21 Jump Street raising a few eye brows, the sequel was bound to do the same. 22 Jump Street somehow new that this was going to happen though and let's out jokes at it's own expense, self aware humor is anything new and it can be a little stale but not when it's done right and 22 Jump Street does just that. Our crime fighting partners Schmidt (Jonah Hill) and Jenko (Channing Tatum) are back fighting crime but it isn't going as well without the same routine as before and after a failed crime sting goes awry, they're put back into similar circumstances once again but in college. The formula remains the same, pretend to be students, new break-out drug with catchy name, infiltrate the school and bring down whoever is responsible. The whole thing though whines up being a meta affair where the jokes go back to the first film about the new film and how it shouldn't be funny and shouldn't work the same way but it does.
Things should be breaking Schmidt and Jenko's way now that they're renowned detectives who solved a major drug problem, right? Well that's not quite true as they're still both completely incompetent when it comes to police work, as partners they add up to less than one good cop even with Jenko's crazy strength and physcial abilities and Schmidt's know how. This has never been more clear than it is now they worked a major case and failed miserably, so it looks like it's back to college after all just like the last movie suggests. The Jump Street program has drastically changed though since last time, the joke being since the first movie was so good the budget is now super big for this movie and that means cooler stuff. Captain Dickson (Ice Cube) is still large and in charge and must once again babysit his favorite screw ups once again as they go back undercover at a local college that has lost a student to a new drug called WHYPHY. I want to point out from here that I loved Ice Cube's character this time around, he's always a bit of a hit or miss with me and his pension for being a tough guy in comedies but this time it worked in a big way, don't worry I won't spoil it, it's too good.
While 22 Jump Street is filled with jokes at it's own expense, it doesn't completely rely on this entirely as it pulls out some fresh faced gags and humor too. As I mentioned earlier Channing Tatum is the picture of physically fit and that comes up time and again this time around as his character jump leaps and parkours his way all across every chase scene. At one point Schmidt gets extremely frustrated and retorts back about how he can't do that sort of thing, he isn't frickin Spiderman. Other comedy comes from the pure references made throughout the film, much like a comedy special Schmidt typically lets out a solid one liner in the defense of his otherwise lacking abilities and to try and save the failing relationship with his partner. Things aren't looking so well for the two this time around as Jenko begins to pull away from Schmidt and his friendship because of the overwhelming facts about them not having too much in common. This causes Schmidt to act like the clinging and unrelenting female role in which he litterally cries out for Jenko, this becomes even more hilarious when they experience a break-up type moment together and even go through a couples counseling scene on top of that.
All in all, 22 Jump Street manages to still pull off charm and humor that is always hard to maintain in a sequel and a questionable sequel at that. I will say that it does sag at points such as the beginning where the movie itself needs to get established and other drawn out gags such as the gender bent fight scene near the end of the film. The overall humor saves it all though and as I said before I was pleasantly surprised with the increased role for past side characters such as Captain Dickson. As a final note as well I highly recommend staying for the credits before walking out at the end, much like a Marvel movie you'll be happy when you see the witty end credits for 22 Jump Street.
Things should be breaking Schmidt and Jenko's way now that they're renowned detectives who solved a major drug problem, right? Well that's not quite true as they're still both completely incompetent when it comes to police work, as partners they add up to less than one good cop even with Jenko's crazy strength and physcial abilities and Schmidt's know how. This has never been more clear than it is now they worked a major case and failed miserably, so it looks like it's back to college after all just like the last movie suggests. The Jump Street program has drastically changed though since last time, the joke being since the first movie was so good the budget is now super big for this movie and that means cooler stuff. Captain Dickson (Ice Cube) is still large and in charge and must once again babysit his favorite screw ups once again as they go back undercover at a local college that has lost a student to a new drug called WHYPHY. I want to point out from here that I loved Ice Cube's character this time around, he's always a bit of a hit or miss with me and his pension for being a tough guy in comedies but this time it worked in a big way, don't worry I won't spoil it, it's too good.
While 22 Jump Street is filled with jokes at it's own expense, it doesn't completely rely on this entirely as it pulls out some fresh faced gags and humor too. As I mentioned earlier Channing Tatum is the picture of physically fit and that comes up time and again this time around as his character jump leaps and parkours his way all across every chase scene. At one point Schmidt gets extremely frustrated and retorts back about how he can't do that sort of thing, he isn't frickin Spiderman. Other comedy comes from the pure references made throughout the film, much like a comedy special Schmidt typically lets out a solid one liner in the defense of his otherwise lacking abilities and to try and save the failing relationship with his partner. Things aren't looking so well for the two this time around as Jenko begins to pull away from Schmidt and his friendship because of the overwhelming facts about them not having too much in common. This causes Schmidt to act like the clinging and unrelenting female role in which he litterally cries out for Jenko, this becomes even more hilarious when they experience a break-up type moment together and even go through a couples counseling scene on top of that.
All in all, 22 Jump Street manages to still pull off charm and humor that is always hard to maintain in a sequel and a questionable sequel at that. I will say that it does sag at points such as the beginning where the movie itself needs to get established and other drawn out gags such as the gender bent fight scene near the end of the film. The overall humor saves it all though and as I said before I was pleasantly surprised with the increased role for past side characters such as Captain Dickson. As a final note as well I highly recommend staying for the credits before walking out at the end, much like a Marvel movie you'll be happy when you see the witty end credits for 22 Jump Street.
Good:
- Tatum and Hill do it again in their oddly mismatched partnership
- Meta comedy about the past film along with new solid one liners
- Side characters break out and make more of a better role
- End credit scene
Bad:
- Drawn out fight scene near the end
- Some recycled humor
Scully Rating: 7.5 out of 10
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