21 Jump street was a surprise box office hit back in 2012, a likeable comedy that made over $200 million, so it was inevitable that all involved would sign up for a sequel. Thankfully, 22 Jump Street manages to outdo its predecessor in almost every way and is one of the best comedies of the year because of it.
Picking up the pieces after their drugs bust, undercover officers Schmidt (Hill) and Jenko (Tatum) graduate from high school narcotics to infiltrating fraternities on a college level. With a new drug craze sweeping a local campus, it’s up to our agents to once again locate the suppliers and pinpoint a dealer, with college offering much more in the way of distractions than high school did.
The secret to the success of both of these movies is the bromance between stars Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum. With an onscreen chemistry that Riggs and Murtagh would have been proud of, the pair riff off of each other perfectly. Thanks in part to some clever writing, and also their respective charisma, Tatum and Hill garner some sizable laughs poking fun at Hollywood’s obsession with remakes and reboots, while simultaneously breathing fresh life into the genre. They launch themselves into the roles with unremitting glee and 22 Jump Street soars because of their commitment to making fun of themselves.
The action sequences are intricate and explosive enough to have you believe our heroes are much more danger this time out, while the campus life that directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller project on screen is the stereotypical, glamorized party scene we’ve come to expect from Hollywood. What 22 Jump Street does magnificently is poke fun at this stereotype and while there is an overemphasis on self-referential gags, it’s hard to find fault with them when they’re so on the money. The truth of it is 22 Jump street’s sharp script, loaded with knowing winks and nods for cinema savvy audiences, is just damn funny.
The balance of action and comedy, perfectly blended here, should see 22 Jump Street delight audiences and ensure another outing for the Hill/Tatum partnership. It’s a refreshing change to see a sequel that address the faults of what’s come before it head on, and improve on almost all of them. Loaded with innate charm, big laughs and the easy chemistry of it’s leads, 22 Jump Street is both bigger and better, and really, isn’t that all anyone wants from a good follow-up??
(Images courtesy Sony, IMDb, Collider)
