Yes, I've finally returned. After six months, I'm happy to be back. For those of you who don't know why I took so long in my return, you can read this post I made about a week ago:http://newandclassicreviews.blogspot.com/2014/06/hey-there.
Let's not hold off any longer. This week, I'm reviewing a sequel to one of the most surprisingly great movies of the last few years, a movie I went into with mixed feelings: I love the original, but the sequel seemed unnecessary. Did it turn out as well as its predacessor? Let's find out in my review of...
PLOT
22 Jump Street follows Jenko and Schmidt after their success with the Jump Street project as cops, and they're still terrible at being cops. Because of this, both men are put back into the Jump Street program with a new case that is exactly the same as last time, except this time they're going to college! Schmidt and Jenko must now infiltrate the college, find the drug dealer, and arrest him/her.
Now, I'm going to try something a little different. I'm going to try and write in paragraphs instead of "PROS" and "CONS". We'll see how it goes.
As I said before, I went into 22 Jump Street a little anxious. I love the first film, but this one just seemed forced. Luckily, directors Chris Miller and Phil Lord feel the same way. The story goes that after directing 21 Jump Street, Miller and Lord were offered a directing job on the sequel, which they declined since they were already directing The Lego Movie. After a while, and for reasons that are not clear to me, Miller and Lord decided to return to the sequel, with the idea that everyone going in to the film was afraid it would be another bad second outing. Because of this outlook, the movie is completely aware that it is the exact same thing as last time. It hits the same plot points, almost beat for beat, and rarely evolves the characters in any meaningful way. And while the film is doing this, it's constantly pointing out these flaws and making fun of them. Many films have tried this self aware outlook, but none have been as committed to the idea as 22 Jump Street. The self-referential and self-effacing humor is near constant, mixing surprisingly well with the normal jokes. Miller and Lord are masters at meta humor, they are the ones who made The Lego Movie after all, and this film just cements that fact.
Luckily, meta humor isn't the only funny thing in this film. As a whole, the movie is hilarious. There were many times where I was laughing so hard, I was rocking in my seat. These big laughs were also near constant with very few jokes falling flat. What makes the humor in this movie work so well is not just the writing, but Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum's performances. These two are an incredible comedy duo and work extremely well together. It's obvious that there were many improved scenes, but since these two have such great chemistry they know how to play off each other and make improv work. Their bromatic relationship is what makes these films special. There's a point in the film where Tatum and Hill's "relationship" is jeopardized, and they play the scene like a break-up in a romantic comedy. This isn't the only romantic-comedy-esc scene, and they all lead to comedy gold.
Beyond these two aspects, there nothing else really carrying the film. The supporting characters are good but not memorable. Ice Cube is hilarious, but he is doing the same thing he always does. There are a ton of cameos, not only from Jump Street alumni, but from random celebrities as well. It's difficult to critique this movie, since it's already pointing out its own flaws. Anything I could complain about, the movie already does for me and makes better jokes about these flaws as well. The movie is simple, there's no complex plot, no deep characters, no moral ambiguity, but that's just fine. 22 Jump Street is a surprisingly smart comedy that's not afraid to go dumb sometimes, it knows what movie it is and runs with the idea until it has no place go. It is one of the funniest movies I've seen and one of the best sequels too. If you love the original film, or Phil Lord and Chris Miller in general, this is a must see.
RATING
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