Review: 22 Jump Street

Directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller have become some of my favorite directors at the moment.
Everything they have done has surprised me and exceeded many other peoples expectations.

From Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs to The Lego Movie, Lord and Miller are now going into their first sequel after making the huge hit 21 Jump Street.

What made 21 Jump Street so much fun was that it was completely self-aware. The film instantly made fun of its own ideas of turning an American TV series into a film. It also managed to make something that was funny on a screwball scale and turn it smart and snappy. It felt very fresh and possibly one of the best comedies of the last decade.

This is certainly a big challenge for Miller and Lord, and the reaction will give them a good bit of preparation before they release the sequel to The Lego Movie in 2017.
For me, the smart comedy and purposeful satire style of the first film is still there. But sadly, I did not feel it throughout the film compared to the original.

There are still laugh out loud moments, but there are also some jokes that felt over-worked and lost the pace of the film. It did entertain me and continues to make me admire the ideas of Lord and Miller. Sadly unlike their previous work, this is the first film that did not surprise me.

The relationship between leads Channing Tatum and Jonah Hill has not changed one bit. They definitely know how to do comedy, especially Tatum who I think has found his true calling card. Originally seen in sub-standard rom-coms, Tatum seems to have embraced this side of him and the style and timing he says his punchy one-liners is great to watch. Like Christoph Waltz is with Quentin Tarantino, Tatum seems to bring his A-game with Lord and Miller.
Just like 21 Jump Street, there are great moments for the important supporting roles. Everyone has their moment in the spotlight, including a much better performance from Ice Cube.

Overall, I am afraid I would have to call this a disappoint. Despite that, I liked and laughed fairly frequently. Even with their intentional dig into sequels and how disappointing they are, I just felt that they were trying to hard.
Tatum for me is the star of the show. But his on-screen relationship with Hill is so important to the success of this franchise. There are great moments by all the major characters, but I still cannot forget the awkward moments of the unsuccessful gags. Silence in the cinema is a killer.
Luckily, the smart ideas of Lord and Miller are still there for all to see. Sadly it's not Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs or Lego Movie.

One final thing I should mention is that I advise people to stay during the early part of the credits. It is probably the funniest part of the film. That may sound like a bad thing. But everything else before it is important for this segment in the credits to work for the audience.

Rating: 7/10