By Darlene Donloe
Ride Along 2, in theaters Friday, Jan. 15, is cinematic proof that not every
movie should have a sequel.
Unlike
Ride Along, the successful 2014
original film starring Ice Cube and Kevin Hart, the latest installment of the
franchise falls flat – mostly because of a convoluted, tortuous story that
makes the film drag. Couple that with
some plotline holes and suspect acting – and it makes for a long 102 minutes.
This
buddy cop movie, opening Martin Luther King Jr. weekend like it’s predecessor,
has rookie cop Ben Barber (Kevin Hart) venturing off to Miami to work on a case
with his future brother-in-law, Detective James Payton, played straight by Ice
Cube. Barber is making the trip even though he is set to marry Payton’s sister
in a week.
Payton
takes Barber with him to Miami, hoping, once again, that he will fall on his
face and realize he was not meant to be a cop.
Really? It didn’t work in the first movie – why does he think it will
happen this time?
Kevin Hart and Ice Cube star in Ride Along 2
The
case involves a computer hacker played by Ken Jeong, and a drug ring helmed by an
unscrupulous businessman and crime lord named Antonio Pope (Benjamin Bratt).
It
all becomes to big for the brothers-in-law to handle, so a sexy Miami-based female
homicide detective named Maya, played unconvincingly by Olivia Munn, partners
with Payton and Barber to crack the case.
Part
of the problem with the movie is the improbability of several scenarios. One of
them is the notion that a police chief would allow a rookie cop, barely a month
on the job, to accompany a seasoned detective on a dangerous drug case in
another state. Another is that a drug
lord would be so inept as to allow someone like Barber to bring him down. Ok, for the sake of this review, forget about
El Chapo (Joaquin Guzman) who allowed a Hollywood actor to essentially bring
him down.
The
film suffers from originality. Several of the scenes are rehashed from films
like Ocean’s Eleven, Bad Boys, Beverly Hills Cop and every other buddy cop movie. Come on!!!
How
is it that all female detectives in movies are gorgeous and badass? In this
case Munn is sorely miscast. Compared to
Hart’s frenetic display, Jeong’s performance as A.J., a computer nerd is
actually toned down. Bratt’s performance is subdued and controlled. Sherri Shepherd brings some comic relief as a
wedding coordinator.
There
is no mistaking that Cube and Hart have chemistry. They work well together.
Cube’s straight man to Hart’s over-the-top, high-energy comic schtick, could
work if only they had a worthy and funny script.
While
there are a couple of laughs, the reality is that director Tim Story’s Ride Along 2 suffers across the board. It just never revs up!
(l-r) Ice Cube, Olivia Munn and Kevin Hart in Ride Along 2
Ride Along 2, directed by Tim Story, stars Ice Cube,
Kevin Hart, Olivia Munn, Tika Sumpter, Ken Jeong, Benjamin Bratt, Sherri
Shepherd, Tyrese Gibson, Glen Powell, Bruce McGill and Yolanda Adams.
Ride Along 2 - Running time: 102
minutes. Rated PG-13 (profanity, violence, sexual content, drug material).
On the DONLOE
SCALE: D (don’t bother), O (oh, no), N (needs work), L (likeable), O (oh, yeah)
and E (excellent), Ride Along 2 gets
an N (needs work).
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