22 Jump Streetby Wilson Morales
It’s not so often when sequels are better than their predecessor. After all, most of them are rehash of the original but filled with more action and less substance. Well, leave it to the hottest duo in town, Phil Lord and Chris Miller, directors of Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs (2009), 21 Jump Street (2012) and The Lego Movie (2014) to bring something fresh to the game for a change. Having playing it safe with the first film and doing the standard introduction of characters and plot to get them off the feet, they feel more relaxed now to give Channing Tatum, Jonah Hill and Ice Cube some breathing room to have fun with their roles. Not only is ’22 Jump Street’ one of the best sequels this summer, but it avoids the pitfalls that have befallen on past films. With a new title, some new faces and an insane amount of action, the story never runs out of steam; which is good enough for an evening’s entertainment.
The last time we saw Schmidt (Hill) and Jenko (Tatum), the officer were solving their first case together after going undercover as high school students while working for Captain Dickson (Ice Cube) at their location, 21 Jump Street. Now comfortable with each other, the duo seemed to have caused some mayhem in their recent case against some Mexicans. This lands them back in the hands of Dickson, who feels very relaxed in their new headquarters, 22 Jump Street. Their new assignment is to use their previous aliases and go undercover at a local college where drugs are being sold and a female student died. Although Schmidt and Jenko have known each other since their high school days, each still yearns to be accepted by others, which leads to friendship issues between the two.
As the athletic one between them, Jenko is easily accepted by the local frat house and developed a bond with its leader Zook (Wyatt Russell), whom is initially suspected of being the drug ring leader. Meanwhile, Schmidt tries to get closer with Maya (Amber Stevens) who was friends with the dead girl. In the midst of doing separate detective work, the both lose sight of their friendship, partnership and objective, which is to find out who’s the one behind the drug action at the school.
Throughout the film, there are plenty of laughs. Hill was always the comedian, having done several comedies, but along the way and probably picking up some traits from the directors, writers and Hill, Tatum found some funny bones in him. Instead of being the typical hollering authority we expect, even Ice Cube gets to be more involved in the film with some twists and surprises that will delight fans.
Besides the leads, the film also benefits from the supporting cast, who provide a good deal of laughter, including Peter Stormare, Nick Offerman, the Lucas Brothers as the Yang twins, and comedian and scene stealer Jillian Bell as Maya’s roommate. The script pokes fun of most of the buddy-cop films of the past with references to Michael Bay’s Bad Boys, Tango and Cash, Lethal Weapon, and countless others. Occasionally, you will get the cliche chase scene but that’s a minor setback. Overall, Tatum and Hill have developed a good chemistry that seems to be working and pleasing audiences.
