22 Jump Street (2014)

Director: Phil Lord and Christopher Miller
Story: Michael Bacall and Jonah Hill
Cast: Jonah Hill, Channing Tatum, Ice Cube
Music: Mark Mothersbaugh 
Time: 112 minutes
Bottom-line: As hilarious as its prequel 

The duo of Tatum and Hill are back with a bang in this comedy sequel to the 2012 film 21 Jump Street. The film, co-starring Ice Cube, Amber Stevens and Peter Stormare, picks up from the first film left off, and if you loved it, then this one will get you laughing twice as much.

Two years after the events of 21 Jump Street, buddy cops Morton Schmidt (Hill) and Greg Jenko (Tatum) are now back to chasing narcotics. After a failed attempt to nab a group of drug dealers led by Ghost (Stormare), they are reassigned to Captain Dickson (Cube), now located at 22 Jump Street. They are sent to MC State to track down a drug called WHYPHY (Work Hard, Yes, Play Hard, Yes) that killed a student. Jenko makes friends with a pair of jocks who dislike Schmidt, while Schmidt gets emotionally attached to a girl named Maya (Stevens). Schmidt has increasing suspicions on Jenko’s jock buddies but Jenko is interested in being with them and even gets a scholarship for playing football. Whether or not the duo manages to complete their mission is what the film is about.

Hill as Schimdt (left), Ice Cube
as Dickson (centre) and Tatum as
Jenko

While it is true that the basic theme of 22 Jump Street is almost exactly the same as that of its prequel, the movie is a whole new experience. The chemistry between Hill and Tatum is even more enhanced, and the humour too is fresh. The comic stunts, the plot twists are quite good but this film centres more on the duo and all the supporting actors have much lesser screen time unlike the prequel where the characters of Molly and Eric seemed to have a bigger share. Look out for the scene of the parent-teacher meeting, the scene in Dickson’s office that follows the meeting, and the hilariously action-packed climax.

The acting is quite good in terms of, as I said, the chemistry between the lead actors, and the humour content thanks to their actions (right from the start). Their contrasting characteristics and talents makes it all the more fun to view them together. Ice Cube has a bigger role to play here than just assigning the duo to their mission, and he takes credit for a lot of laughs (not to forget a large chunk of profanity too!).

Unlike films like The Hangover Part 2, which was pretty much a ditto copy of the prequel, 22 Jump Street equals its prequel in terms of presentation but is nothing like its predecessor. The jokes (a lot of dirty ones too) are superb, the acting is good, and the overall script is amazing. Look out for the scenes during the closing credits... where we get to see all the possible sequels (going up to even 42 Jump Street)!!

My Rating: 3.5/5
Rotten Tomatoes rating: 84%