​FILMS

ride along 2

If you're expecting a barrel of laughs, you'll be taken for a ride.

2016 review number 29:

Ride Along 2: (Comedy/Action): 42 out of 100: Throughout movie history, there have been numerous buddy cop movies which light up the screen in the comedy/action genre. Movies like Beverly Hills Cop and Rush Hour have been a lot of fun, balancing the laughs with exciting action scenes. Ride Along 2 doesn't belong in this category as the action scenes including car chases are generic and the laughs are few and far between. This is the sequel to the hit Ride Along from 2014 which grossed close to 135 million at the North American box office. The success of the first film obviously lured the studio into making a sequel, but here is another case of the sequel being inferior to the original. 

 

Miami crime lord Antonio Pope (Benjamin Bratt) is untouchable. He is a drug dealer who has paid off authority figures like politicians to turn a blind eye to his business. His computer hacker A.J. (Ken Jeong) witnesses a murder that Pope has authorised and is on the run. Meanwhile, a drug dealer in Atlanta wounds Detective James Payton's partner (Tyrese Gibson). It is discovered that this criminal has ties with Pope. Payton (Ice Cube) has been instructed to pursue Pope in Miami. However, he needs a new partner so Ben Barber (Kevin Hart) suggests that he could accompany him. He is fresh out of the police academy and is about to marry Payton's sister, Angela (Tika Sumpter). With the help of Miami detective, Maya Cruz (Olivia Munn) and the infromation that A.J. possesses, the Atlanta cops attempt to bring Pope to justice.

 

There are numerous scenes that attempt to be funny but barely raise a smile. It doesn't help when Kevin Hart is in over-the-top mode, shamelessly pulling faces and delivering rapid-fire dialogue to extract laughs. There were a few moments when I focused on audience reaction and like me, other patrons were sitting through these scenes in silence. Ice Cube performs his tough guy act but he seems to be typecast yet again. Their two characters are complete opposites which should have made for more laughs than were registered. The action scenes are standard, and although well-edited, sequences featuring car chases have been seen in many Hollywood action movies before. There's nothing new or exciting to attract the action crowd. 

 

The locations are used to great effect. When shooting a film in a place like Miami, one would expect spectacular outdoor scenery and this is certainly the case here. It's a cool looking film trying to support a lukewarm story and screenplay. 

 

One cannot argue with the energy the cast has in trying to generate laughs. It's just a shame that there isn't much original or memorable about the finished product. It has made enough money at the US box office to warrant another sequel so let's hope that the next Ride Along instalment is worth the ride and not another occasion for moviegoers to quote the oft-repeated phrase, "It's not as good as the original".

 

Starring Ice Cube, Kevin Hart, Ken Jeong, Benjamin Bratt and Olivia Munn

(102 mins)

Parental advice: Violence, coarse language and sexual references

Additional scene during or after credits: No

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iWfmmwdCHTg (Movie trailer)

 

(Reviewed on Friday 19th February, 2016)

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