Considering its been just over two years since the first outing, (21 Jump Street) the careers of Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum, have risen immensely from young actors to A-list stars. While this movie may take place just after the first, our actors are strides beyond where we first found them.
Like many sequels, 22 Jump Street promises a bigger, badder, version of what came before: in this case, college. And yes, every college movie touchstone is brought to light here: fraternity parties, football games, regrettable hookups, self-absorbed professors, even a school shrink. In this environment, the two leads are able to grow a little more, and the sequel plays as a follow-up to the first without seeming utterly redundant. In this way, the college setting works more fluidly than the high school setting did because there are simply more shenanigans they find themselves in on a university campus.
Another major improvement this time around is the use of Ice Cube as Captain Dickson, the police chief. There isn’t much to remember about him from the first movie, but in the sequel, it’s possible he gets the biggest laugh, thanks to a perfectly executed comedic twist. While Hill and Tatum take up most of the screen, Ice Cube steals every moment he’s given.
It’s repetitive at times but for the most part is hilarious.
With that in mind, there are two big selling points on this movie that make it worth seeing. The first, as mentioned, is the dynamic between Hill and Tatum, where their characters Schmidt and Jenko are done with their honeymoon phase and are now learning how to stay friends and cops no matter what obstacles come at them. This is where the homoeroticism enters, and while for many buddy cop movies it never is unearthed, for this satire it is perhaps the driving force of the entire movie. Through all the college shenanigans, these guys just have to be together. It’s repetitive at times but for the most part is hilarious.
The second piece of the movie is that this time around the block, not only is it spoofing buddy cop movies (or 80’s TV), now we get the ultimate spoof of a big-budget sequel, starting from the opening credits until the very last shot. It’s got a lot of the same turning points as the first, but now is amplified with more characters and bigger events, including a huge spring break finish in Mexico (filmed in Puerto Rico). Never has a cash grab been as self-aware to recognize, and thereby embrace, exactly what it is. Directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller have proven themselves to be the most modern comedy directors working today, switching back and forth from phenomenal animated family humor (The Lego Movie, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs) to the R-rated Jump Street series where they are fully aware that they’ve done way more with the material that anyone could’ve expected. Expect a multitude of jabs at the fact that this is a sequel.
At times it is a little repetitive, because even though it’s good material, it is familiar material. The movie leaves an open door for a 23 Jump Street to exist, but with the level of sequel spoofing that this film achieves, how much more could a third film bring without completely beating the life out of the series? This is the best possible sequel that could have come from 21, but promises even more exciting ventures for both Tatum and Hill’s futures as actors.
