22 Jump Street Review: Doing the Exact Same Thing

The newest dynamic duo to come out of Hollywood, Channing Tatum and Jonah Hill, are back to attack your funny bones in a very familiar fashion. But surprisingly and impressively the team succeed where so many other comedy franchises have failed; with a bag of 2^nd hand tricks, that seem to work even better this time around.

Schmidt (Jonah Hill) and Jenko (Channing Tatum) are back on our silver screens to once again take down the trade of a new dangerous drug that has already claimed its first victim. But this time instead of infiltrating a high school with their narrowly convincing latter teenage looks they are now trying to find their footing in a college from which point hilarity and relationship defining moments ensue.

If this sounds very similar to the plot of the first movie it’s because it is, in-fact it’s almost exactly the same. And while this is usually a huge con for a movie, such as 2011’s un-inventive The Hangover Part 2, how this movie embraces its own flaws of sticking to the motto of ‘if it’s not broke, don’t fix it’ with funny and well placed Meta jokes that almost wink at the audience, especially in the movies hilarious end credits sequence that really cannot be missed, almost makes this potentially fatal transgression forgivable. This also highlights one of the movies biggest charms of it not wanting or needing to break any revolutionary ground but knowing exactly what it is and just wanting to have fun and the biggest pro of this movie is how exceptional it is at just letting the audience have fun.

Another reason the movies very familiar plot is forgivable is just how funny it is. Throughout this movie there is always something to stop and laugh at; from the side hurting sequences that filled the whole theatre with uncontrollable laughter, such as a very furious scene involving one of the best side characters in the movie Captain Dickson (Ice Cube), to the excellently timed one liners that are sure to be heard within friendship groups for a long time. This movie is brimming with comedy gold, utilizing every second of its runtime for it; never leaving me bored or wondering when the movie will end and in my opinion this movie does the familiar routine even better the second time round.

What greatly helps the comedy of 22 Jump Street be so spot on is the really good acting on show. All the returning cast slip easily and comfortably back into their roles; especially the ongoing bromance of duo Channing Tatum and Jonah Hill who each retain their own loveable quirks and amazing strong chemistry that helped make the first movie such a success. The new additions to the cast, such as Jillian Bell’s creepy and antagonistic room-mate, also fit perfectly into the movies flow of laughs and sharp come backs.

A surprising aspect of this smart comedy sequel is the creative and entertaining editing techniques used throughout the movie. This added greatly to the entertainment that the movie delivered, keeping me interested in the less energetic moments of the movie and even making a scene of just 2 people walking on a hill a well thought-out sequence that left me impressed.

Another surprising addition to the movie is the directors’ utilization of Channing Tatum’s potential as an action hero. Just as the movie takes full advantage of Jonah Hill’s comedic style there are a number of scenes that take advantage of Tatum’s physicality and ability to pull of Spider-Man-esque moves. This combination of expertise is most fully complimented in the big finale of the movie which, once again with some great vision for the editing of the scenes, see’s both Tatum and Hill flex their muscles in their preferred skills simultaneously; giving a real thrill ride for the audience and a very satisfying conclusion for this excellent buddy-cop film.

So overall It seems that directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller have once again, after the successes of 21 Jump Street and the Lego Movie, made another spectacularly funny movie and seem to not be able to stop making clever, completely self aware movies that know their strengths and flaws and embrace them fully making movies that are always a complete joy to watch; and 22 Jump Street is no exception.

22 Jump Street = 9/10

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Also this review you can see in this months edition of the NG5 Magazine.