Ride Along 2

Watching Ride Along 2 does not induce leaving the cinema before it’s over. However, that’s still not saying much. It is possible to watch the sequel without having ever seen the first instalment in the series, as the plot and gags are almost identical.

Starring Ice Cube as the stoic APD cop and Kevin Hart as his annoyingly mouthy sidekick, the two are paired off once again, this time venturing all the way to the sweltering heat of Miami to bring down duplicitous public figure and criminal kingpin Antonio Pope, played by Benjamin Bratt. Along the way, they are joined by Officer Maya Cruz (Olivia Munn), the obligatory hot female cop, and hedonistic hacker AJ (Ken Jeong), the token Asian guy.

The extremely simplified plot lacks imagination, serving as a mechanism to deliver a high-speed car chase, party scenes and sweeping shots of Miami. Yet the movie doesn’t even feature as many explosions, quick-witted banter or objectified female bodies as one would hope or expect from the genre. A flimsy carbon copy of countless other buddy cop comedies, the film’s jokes barely even constitute it as such. One would typically expect a movie starring and executive produced by Ice Cube to bear a stellar soundtrack, but Christopher Lennetz has put together a mediocre and predictable one at best. Memorable moments, of which there are very few, include a virtual reality video game sequence and a brief cameo by Tyrese Gibson.

Ride Along 2 deserves at least one star because the movie attempts to be nothing more than a mindless pseudo-action comedy flick. Not much thinking was involved in its conception and production, nor its viewing, but the film certainly isn’t boring and offers enough to partially satiate superficial cravings for a crime comedy.

Frances Lai

Ride Along 2 is released nationwide on 22^nd January 2016.

Watch the trailer for Ride Along 2 here: