Fresh off of an undercover mission, wherein they disguised themselves as high school scholars in order to bring down a burgeoning drug ring, oddly-paired police officers Greg Jenko and Morton Schmidt have received a new assignment from their superiors. In what is shockingly similar to their last job, the two are ordered to mask themselves as students, infiltrate a popular college, locate the supplier of a new drug nicknamed "WHYPHY," and bring them to justice. When the two arrive, they discover that the new, more vibrant, and drastically different environment surrounding them could slowly dissolve their partnership, should old aspirations and longings get in their way.
When the inaugural 21 Jump Street was released to theaters two years ago, I tried my absolute best to avoid it, fearing that it was, as I've previous stated about other motion pictures in this vein, an unnecessary reboot and/or re-imagining of something that should have stayed buried and should have stayed as a relic or gem of the 1980s. However, thanks to a rather peculiar mixture of boredom and possible masochism, I begrudgingly took the plunge when it arrived at one of my local Redboxes, and I was joined by an equally skeptical friend. We were prepared for the worst. Of course, this is where I would insert the usual spiel about "it surprised me." Well, I'm not nearly clever enough to hide that fact now, am I?. My friend and I came out of our screening rather happy, and admittedly had a lot more fun than someone of our mindsets were expecting. But a sequel? That just screams desperation to the highest degree. Or does it?
The film definitely doesn't take itself too seriously, and even dives into the realm of "meta" pictures like Kiss Kiss Bang Bang and the 90s projects of Wes Craven. It's littered with numerous utterances of lines that indicate the sheer absurdity of doing a sequel which essentially encompasses the same exact premise and plot from the duo's previous frenetic task (the first film's Deputy, played by Parks and Recreation's Nick Offerman, seems to only serve this purpose and does it rather amusingly). Unlike something along the lines of, say, the infamous followups to Austin Powers, this self-referential humor, fourth wall-breaking, and sporadic nod to the original film's memorable moments doesn't grate on you, nor does it feel like, to quote Monty Python, "wink wink nudge nudge." The screenwriters and editors involved with 22 Jump Street mercifully know how to properly manage this, and should be given a pat on the back for mostly preventing the chance of running these aforementioned jokes into the ground. Speaking of jokes, for such a silly, mostly crude and lewd comedy aimed primarily at the young, college-bound crowds and audiences, there are a surprising amount of gags, nuances, and references that could fly right over their heads should they not be too well-versed in the pop culture of yesteryear. Not to sound arrogant or demeaning of today's generation, but most of the folks I know who read this should pick up on a large portion of these once they're in plain view.
Something else that isn't run into the ground is Ice Cube, once again playing the Captain of the "Jump Street" division. He's given a rather sizable amount of more screen time compared to 21 Jump Street, and his vulgar-laced tirades, while pretty damn great, make me wonder if that supposed fourth entry of the Friday film series is ever going to leave developmental hell. As if it wasn't apparent in the previous installment, leads Channing Tatum and Jonah Hill have an eerily good chemistry between them. While I'm an unapologetic fan of Jonah Hill, and have been since his very brief appearance in The 40-Year-Old Virgin, I've never quite seen the appeal of his costar Channing Tatum. With the plethora of pictures that the 34-year-old ends up choosing (how the man is already that old I'm not quite sure), he more often than not comes across as a more boorish version of Keanu Reeves, albeit with better looks. And yet, Hill manages to get something out of the Magic Mike actor that nobody else possibly can: a personality. Perhaps the Keanu comparison isn't too damning after all, especially since Reeves finally started emitting legitimate charisma when paired alongside performers such as Al Pacino and Laurence Fishburne. If those comparisons don't make sense to the non-cinema attending crowds, then let me try this one for you: Hill and Tatum are the movie equivalent of wrestling superstars Hulk Hogan and Randy Savage. Not in terms of pop culture importance per se, but at least in terms of being able to play off of one another extremely well, be it in times of conflict or in times of unity. The new supporting characters are fine additions too (most projects involving Peter Stormare are worth at least one viewing), though one of my primary fears was realized when one rather important revelation in the movie involving a new cast member was disclosed in its own trailers shown throughout nationwide cinemas. It does detract from the potential surprise, but doesn't necessarily hurt any of its acts. The surprise cameos from Rob Riggle and Dave Franco, who were both involved with the former flick, are also charming, but not entirely needed.
While the script does feel lacking and leaves particular problems or subplots unresolved, especially after its rather bloated third act, the sequelitis bug doesn't end up infecting 22 Jump Street with anything poisonous whatsoever (especially with the excellent end credits sequence that I won't spoil for any single person reading this). It isn't perfect, but given that most features based on television shows these days usually end up wallowing in the muck of mediocrity (Demon Knight, Get Smart) or are just plain insufferable to sit through (you're welcome to insert whatever you feel like in this category), it ends up as an entertaining experience, especially if you can make the trek it to a relatively early screening and can manage to wrangle in an open-minded and humorous comrade to go with you.
Besides, you don't want to spend your hard-earned cash on that OTHER film based off of a television franchise, do you?
…..Please tell me that you don't…..
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