"Ride Along 2" - Review

Here We Go Again

I dare you to find a more mediocre film than Ride Along 2. Granted, I did not hate this film like others (including one I'm about to write about next) but that just adds even more to the mediocrity of it. It did not make me angry to be in the movie theater, but it felt like a tremendous waste of my time watching it or writing about it. The sad truth is that no matter what I write about this movie, a ton of people are going to go see it anyway and it will be a big success for the studio who did not even have to put any effort into it.

Ride Along 2 once again features Ice Cube and Kevin Hart as Ben and James (had to look up their characters on IMDB because I really did not remember their names) who are preparing for the wedding between James and Ben's sister Angela when they decide to take on a mission involving drug trafficking in Miami, James has just conveniently become a cop so he can "ride along" on this very dangerous mission and hope that they make it back in time for the wedding. So it's basically a combination of 22 Jump Street and The Hangover, but the boring PG-13 sanitized version of it.

There is nothing incredibly wrong about the movie. Ice Cube and Kevin Hart are really trying their best here and are usually great in other projects. The script here does not allow them to have the wit and chemistry of what they are capable of. It really just goes through the motions. If you can think of a cliche plot device in a buddy action comedy, it's in here, but unlike 22 Jump Street where that is intentional and finds amazing comedy in its self-awareness, Ride Along 2, does not attempt to do anything creative or special with what it has. Other cast members including the normally great Olivia Munn and Ken Jeong are also wasted by the material here. In fact, I do not remember a single great line or moment featuring them, but I remember them not being terrible. All of this is the epitome of "meh."

All of this could be forgiven if any of this was funny. Sadly, laughs are spare and far between here. They exist, notably in one stand out scene with Kevin Hart, but there is not nearly enough of them. There are also action sequences in the film, which are also serviceable but not all that entertaining. They lack a sense of consequence and immediacy that I feel is necessary for a great action set piece. They are here because they feel like they are necessary to be there, not because they are inspired or feel natural.

What else can I say? The worst part of seeing such a middling film is that there really isn't much to say about it as critique or analysis. It just exists. I am tired of studios cranking out products rather than pieces of entertainment or art. This only exists because the first one made a little bit of money that was profitable to the bigwigs in charge. Sadly, this will most likely happen again with Ride Along 2. See you all again January 2018 for Ride Along 3: Big Guy Growls Again and Little Guy Screams Again. In 3D. Can't wait!

Grade: D.

Ride Along 2 is now playing in theaters.