“Ride Along 2,” released on Jan. 15, is the sequel to “Ride Along” and an action cop comedy. It has plenty of laughs and action throughout.
After an infiltration of a car deal goes awry thanks to Officer Ben Barber (Kevin Hart), Detective James Payton (Ice Cube) was assigned to investigate the dealings of crime lord Antonio Pope (Benjamin Bratt) in Miami. Ben, eager to prove himself worthy of being a detective, accompanied James for the investigation, where hijinks and action unfolded.
The film was packed with plenty of humor that kept audiences engaged. Most of the humor consisted of witty banter on the cops’ parts; one recurring gag is of Ben referring to himself and James as “the brothers-in-law” because Ben is about to marry Angela (Tika Sumpter), who is James’ sister. One particularly humorous moment was when Ben was playing a game reminiscent of “Grand Theft Auto” and had his character hijack an elderly lady’s car, only to get beaten up by her.
In addition to such banter, we also met AJ (Ken Jeong), a hacker who worked for Pope before but is forced to aid the cops. He spends most of his screen time being scared of the cops’ actions, such as high-speed chases, or making remarks towards their actions.
The film also had its share of action, too. As expected from a cop flick, the film contained the usual fare, such as chase scenes and gun fights. However, this one had some unique twists and comedic moments to the action. During one chase scene, for instance, Ben decided to take the wheel and ended up performing maneuvers from the car game, complete with the scene adopting the game’s visuals. There were also moments when a character was shot, only to reveal that he had on a bulletproof vest. In essence, these moments made the film enjoyable.
That being said, the film’s plot felt lackluster. Without its humor, the plot felt way too cliché, and seemed like something too typical to write. Also, the comedy eventually began to feel dull, and not even the action was able to make up.
Overall, “Ride Along 2” beared plenty of humor and jokes, but its predictable plot made it a mediocre film.
[star rating= “3”]
