Login
FIRST IMPRESSIONS
I haven't seen the show, but I loved the first 21 Jump Street movie. Watching it was like being at a really wild party: a flurry of inspired jokes constantly subverting the hyperreality movies usually create. Imagine my disappointment, then, that that sensibility is completely lost in this sequel. The jokes this time around are few and far between.
On top of that, it's one of those sequels that simply repeats the original formula. Literally: it's almost exactly the same, beat for beat. The movie constantly makes it clear that it's aware of this, but it barely makes any effort to make fun of it. Most of the time, the same jokes are just blatantly recycled. So no matter how self-aware the movie tries to be, that doesn't make it any less redundant.
But thankfully, the climax saves this movie from being a complete disappointment. It's completely insane and over the top, and is packed with genuinely good jokes, so that's when it finally starts resembling the first movie. That last half-hour is the main thing I took away from this movie; I doubt I'll ever laugh so hard again this year. :)
Aside from that, there are some good parts along the way, like the twists involving the photograph and Captain Dickson. But with its reliance on copying from the first movie, as well as some all-too-familiar clichés, it's mostly just kind of a bore.
My rating: 50%
