22 Jump Street - Review

Directors: Phil Lord, Christopher Miller Writers: Michael Bacall, Oren Uziel, Rodney Rothman Studios: Columbia Pictures, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Media Rights Capital, Original Film, Lord Miller Productions Cast: Jonah Hill, Channing Tatum, Peter Stormare, Ice Cube Release Date (UK): June 6, 2014 Certificate: 15 Runtime: 112 min

“Everybody knows the sequel’s never quite as good,” sang Kermit the Frog earlier this year in the rib-ticklingly self-deprecating opening musical number of “Muppets Most Wanted,” a sequel which, as fate would have it, was indeed not quite as good as its fantastic predecessor. It seems Kermit may have sung too soon: “22 Jump Street,” a sequel which shares the same ironically mocking attitude towards the concept of sequels as “Muppets Most Wanted,” is every bit as good as “21 Jump Street,” if not even better. And as anyone who saw Phil Lord and Christopher Miller’s spectacularly funny 2012 action comedy will agree, that’s a damn impressive feat. Matching the first film’s gut-busting laugh-a-minute hit rate as well as its boisterous energy and subversive wit, it’s a more than worthy follow-up to that comedy tour de force, and may well be the greatest comedy sequel of all time.

An affectionate send-up of money-grubbing sequels which is itself a money-grubbing sequel, “22 Jump Street” has stars Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum doing the exact same thing they did in the first movie all over again, but with a slight twist: instead of going undercover as students at a high school, they’re going undercover at a college. And as per the rule of the sequel, everything’s bigger and louder: the opening action set-piece has ridiculously OTT stunts; Ice Cube’s Jump Street headquarters are given a pointlessly expensive refurbishment; in an on-campus chase scene, Hill and Tatum ride around in a giant football helmet on wheels, crashing into every statue and sculpture in sight. There’s even an exotic change of locale for the action-packed, helicopter-dangling final showdown, as Hill and Tatum join party-crazy spring breakers at the sweltering beach of Puerto, Mexico.

Even Hill and Tatum’s bromance is off the charts: cranking it up to 11, Lord and Miller have their central pair's bromantic friendship teetering dangerously close to an all-out love affair. Hill and Tatum are once again a hilarious buddy duo worthy of Riggs and Murtaugh. Tatum was a comedic revelation in “21 Jump Street” and here he’s knocking it out of the park. Case in point: in the improv class scene, he shouts one word, and I was laughing my ass off; then he shouts another and I was laughing even harder. The dude’s a natural. As for Lord and Miller, they’ve had quite a year, with the insurmountably awesome “The LEGO Movie” one of 2014's best cinematic offerings, and this not trailing far behind. They continue to prove that they’re a pair of directors who really understand the art of comedy: their latest is a full-blown blast of hilarity which halfway through had my ribs hurting from all the giggle fits. By the way, make sure you stick through the end credits -- they alone are worth the price of admission.

Rating: 9/10