22 Jump Street:
The crime-stopping duo Schmidt and Jenko aren't doing as well with the police work after their success at the end of the previous film. Therefore, their sarcastic superior officer sends them back to Jump Street, this time at the new headquarters in another abandoned church, which is directly across from the Korean church from the last film. They again use their fake identities (the McQuaid brothers) to infiltrate a school to take down a drug dealer, this time at a college. The duo again go through basically a reverse of the plot of the first film, but the movie is smart enough to acknowledge time and time again that it's the same film in a different setting, which is what most action movie sequels are.
Channing Tatum and Jonah Hill are, again, fantastic as Jenko and Schmidt, respectively. They have excellent chemistry on-screen, and Tatum continually surprises me with how funny he can be. Jonah Hill is basically the same guy he plays in most comedies, but it's a role he pulls off extremely well, so I'm not bothered by it at all. Rob Riggle and Dave Franco reprise their antagonistic roles from the first film in a scene early on, now cell-mates. I know we as the audience are not supposed to like Franco, but I can't help but feel bad for the guy. He was on his way to college and had a whole future planned out and then he was tossed in a jail cell with the crazy gym teacher that Riggle plays. Peter Stormare has a supporting role as the main villain: Ghost, a violent drug dealer. Not the best villain, but because it's a comedy, I'll let the weak villain thing slide; comedies aren't known for their memorable antagonists. Ice Cube is, as always, hilarious as the volatile and angry Captain Dickson. I'm convinced this is just Ice Cube being himself and they just worked him into the movie, because he pulls off this kind of role so well it feels like this is more than just him acting. Amber Stevens fills in for Brie Larson as Schmidt's new love interest: Maya, an art student who is way out of his league. Wyatt Russell plays Zook, Jenko's new friend and star football player, who basically is the Dave Franco of the sequel, just less of a pretentious douche. Jillian Bell (Bridesmaids, The Master) portrays Mercedes, Maya's sarcastic and deadpan roommate that seems to have a negative view on everything. Nick Offerman returns as Deputy Chief Hardy, the self-aware superior of the film's stars. Despite having a very small role, he kills it, nearly every line he has is funny. Marc Evan Jackson has a small role as the odd school psychologist, Dr. Murphy. There are numerous cameos in the film, from big names such as Seth Rogen, Anna Faris, Queen Latifah, Patton Oswalt, Bill Hader, and H. Jon Benjamin (Archer, Bob's Burgers). Similar to how Johnny Depp and Peter DeLuise made cameos in the last film as a nod to their lead roles on 21 Jump Street back in the 80's, Jump Street alum Dustin Nguyen cameos as Vietnamese Jesus and David Grieco reprises his role from the old show in a credits sequence cameo.
Speaking of which, that end credits sequence was amazing, mocking the endless sequels and spin-offs we see from successful franchises nowadays. Don't miss it, it will not disappoint. The movie is packed with self-deprecating humor and call-backs to the first film. The writing by Michael Bacall and Oren Uziel is fresh and filled to the brim with wit. The direction by the team of Phil Lord and Chris Miller (the guys behind first film, as well as The LEGO Movie, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, and Clone High) is exceptional considering these two have only made a small handful of films, most of them animated children's films.
22 Jump Street may not be as funny or surprising as the first film (when I say surprising, I mean that no one saw it coming), but it is surprising as it is a sequel that (mostly) lives up to the hype. Self-aware to a fault, it is also refreshingly original for a film that openly says it's the same thing as the first film. I'm not saying it's never been done before, but I don't think I've seen a film like this done with this level of self-parody. 4/5 stars.
(Image: Wikipedia)
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