22 Jump Street (2014) (English Language)

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112min

Cast: Jonah Hill, Channing Tatum, Ice Cube…and more

Writers: Michael Bacall, Oren Uziel , Rodney Rothman, Jonah Hill

Officers Schmidt (Hill) and Jenko (Tatum) return to our screens in the buddy-cop comedy blockbuster of this summer with much of the same formula from the successful and surprisingly entertaining 21 Jump Street from 2012, in fact so much of the same formula that it becomes a running gag throughout the film.

This time the boys are undercover in University to bust a dangerous drug ring while working through the challenges of their own relationship, all with typically farcical consequences.

Ok, we’re going a bit against the grain here in terms of reviews but there is much lost in this sequel and consequently it’s just not as laugh-out-loud funny and original as the first film.

22 Jump Street is jam packed with Movie and pop-culture references throughout, perhaps too much, there are sight gags stacked on top of self-referential humour stacked on top of in-jokes and it’s relentless and ultimately tedious.

It is no doubt difficult to make a sequel to a film like 21 Jump Street where the expectations were low and very few comedy sequels ever live up to their originals, Directors Lord & Miller have gone the way of pre-empting any disappointment and expectation by constantly referencing this trend but ultimately the film falls victim to it.

The film is not without merit and there are plenty of creative referential gags and entertaining action sequences, anchored by another strong performance by a Jonah Hill who is clearly allowed to improvise a-plenty, ultimately if you enjoyed The Hangover Part II as much as the original we would recommend this for a good 2 hour summer laugh.