Movie Review:
Those that saw the first “Ride Along” may have forgotten how it ended, with diminutive Atlanta security guard Ben Barber (Hart) proposing to his doting girlfriend, Angela (Tika Sumpter), with the reluctant blessing of her detective brother, James (Cube). Scripted by Phil Hay and Matt Manfredi (two of the first film’s four acknowledged screenwriters), “Ride Along 2” accumulates with Ben and Angela’s wedding coming, and the actual fact that so short amount of time has transferred is merely one reason the movie feels as though such a slog from the get-go. Although he’s now a rookie officer, Ben continues to be an obnoxious, accident-prone motormouth, while James remains bit more when compared to a scowl with a badge, driven showing Ben precisely how sick suited he's for police.
When Ben’s fast-talking, slow-thinking shenanigans business lead to the shooting of another detective (a cameo by Tyrese Gibson, on loan from Universal’s “Fast and the Furious” franchise), James persuades Atlanta PD to send him and his brother-in-law-to-be to Miami, where they’re tailing a hacker who might cause them to his crime-kingpin employer. For James, it’s another chance to be rid of “the dwarf” forever; for Ben, it’s an opportunity to verify himself on the pressure and enjoy the bachelor party of his dreams. And sure enough, Story lets us soak up the sights and seems of the Magic City, whether he’s crowding the framework with bikini-clad bodies, staging a foot chase through the back alleys of Little Havana, or having Hart belch fire and tear up the dance floor at a nightclub (actually an Atlanta soundstage, but whatever).
But the two cops’ respective plans go awry when they come face-to-face with the hacker, AJ (Jeong), a resourceful geek whom James dismisses as “a low-budget-ass Jackie Chan,” perhaps in an attempt to stir fond remembrances of “Rush Hour.” If only! The filmmakers deserve some credit for attempting to further diversify their mostly non-white ensemble, a choice that pays off with one kinda-funny collection when James accuses AJ of dodging him just because he’s black (“Look at you! You would run from you!” AJ replies). What they’ve really shown, regrettably, is that mediocrity is completely color-blind: No one here, whether dark, white, Asian or Latino, is allowed to state or do anything appealing - not Antonio Pope (a bored-looking Benjamin Bratt), a wealthy philanthropist who's soon uncovered as the murderous drug lord, and definitely not local detective Maya (Olivia Munn), trotted out as a tough-minded love interest for James.
Although Maya’s smarts are eventually set aside and only her shapelier attributes - as when she stages a diversion by getting hot and heavy with Antonio on the dance floor - she’s treated with marginally more respect than the other women on screen, like the very, vacant Angela and her increasingly fascistic wedding planner, Cori (Sherri Shepherd). But really, this is no one’s notion of an stars’ display: Jeong, a wily and irrepressible comic talent, is most beneficial known for teaching Spanish on “Community” and baring all in “The Hangover” films, and the ones achievements are improbable to be eclipsed by his uninspired third-wheel convert here. For the manic Hart and the surly Cube, that they had a hard plenty of time respiration fresh life into this stale formulation the first time around, and seem content to spin their wheels while hopefully contemplating a career shift away from the Story franchise factory.
The tediously over-explained plot chokes and sputters along, and many of the action set pieces simply smack of desperation, never more so than when Ben finds himself trapped in Antonio’s backyard with a jumbo alligator. There is one diverting car chase, however, in which Ben, drawing on his video-game addiction, skillfully outmaneuvers one vehicle after another - a sequence that finds editor Peter S. Elliot trimming briskly between live-action footage and a “Grand Theft Auto”-style simulation. It’s somehow fitted that “Ride Along 2” springs to life in those moments when it most clearly resembles the non-movie it is.
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