22 Jump Street movie review

I’ll admit, I haven’t laughed this much since the Lego Movie. This was great!

While it’s my personal opinion that the first one was a bit overrated, the sequel is awesome! Again, this film knows what it is, and they flat out say that this is just the same darn thing as 21 Jump Street. Same plot, different jokes. I like the fact that they make fun of how most sequels aren’t as good or creative at all, so this approach was safe and effective. However, in my eyes, 22 Jump Street is better than 21 Jump Street.

What’s different in this movie? Instead of going undercover in high school, it’s college. Instead of the climax happening at prom, it’s spring break. Pretty much everything else is the same. I was watching this and thought “this has almost all the same plot points as the first one.” So if it’s a carbon copy, why did laugh more and like it more?

I think the primary reason is the delivery of the jokes. There are a small handful of jokes that don’t hit the mark, there were some that fell in the middle, then there were some that were so freaking hilarious, I could hardly breathe. It’s all in the delivery, and the actors deliver it almost perfectly. Ice Cube deserves a cookie, and Jonah Hill and channing Tatum are bounds better. I didn’t buy their friendship that much in the first one, but here, their chemistry is much more believable and works a lot better. The direction their friendship went is the biggest difference between the first and second, and I thought it turned out well. I can’t imagine any other duo being in these roles.

I can’t go into much more detail than what I have already, because I don’t want to ruin the jokes. If you want a comedy that is self aware, and lets you KNOW it’s self aware, and makes fun of itself in a ridiculous, crazy, and hysterical manner, than this is for you. I thoroughly enjoyed it. By the way, stay for the credits. Those credits are the funniest credits I’ve ever seen.

FINAL RATING: 39 / 50

STORY: 3 / 5

ACTING: 4 / 5

CHARACTERS: 4 / 5

DELIVERY: 5 / 5

COMEDY: 5 / 5

SOUNDTRACK: (I’m still not sure if this really matters in a comedy, but whatever) 2 / 5

TONE: 4 / 5

ENJOYABILITY: 5 / 5

REWATCH VALUE: 4 / 5

OWNING VALUE: 3 / 5

Not bad. This is one of the few good comedies of the year. I recommend giving this one a watch. It’s not the best comedy ever made, but it’s the best I’ve seen in a while.