Image: www.ridealong2.com.au
In 2014, the cohort of on-screen odd-couple cops boosted their number. Ben Barber (Kevin Hart, Get Hard) was short, loud, and eager to graduate from security guard to police officer, while James Payton (Ice Cube, 22 Jump Street) was stocky, stoic, and much too streetwise to put up with his counterpart’s over-the-top enthusiasm. Heightened by the fact that Ben was also dating James’ sister Angela (Tika Sumpter, Get On Up), their mismatched mishaps fuelled Ride Along, named after the latter’s willingness to let the former accompany him on a day-long pursuit of an arms dealer. James’ seeming mentorship of his potential brother-in-law was far from benevolent, however, with the detective determined to prove that Ben wasn’t law enforcement or marriage material.
Little has changed in their second outing; Ben is now a rookie on the force, and his wedding is mere days away, but James’ stone-faced disapproval remains. Paired together as part of a training program, they blunder an undercover operation, and then head to Miami on a salvage mission. Hacker A.J. (Ken Jeong, The DUFF) is their slippery informant, local cop Maya (Olivia Munn, Mortdecai) their on-ground assistance, and shady politician Antonio Pope (Benjamin Bratt, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2) their target.
Ride Along 2 shifts the action from Atlanta’s grim streets to Florida’s sand, sea and sunshine, changes the personal stakes from potential proposal to impending ceremony, and adds a few extra characters to the mix, yet any changes to its precursor’s formula are of the purely cosmetic variety. Riding the same wave of contrast comedy laced with cursory shootout sequences is the sequel’s aim, and one that the returning team of director Tim Story (Think Like a Man Too) and writers Phil Hay and Matt Manfredi (The Invitation) achieve in as routine a manner as possible.
Key to both films is their casting — or, more accurately, the obvious physical differences between the two leads. Playing to type, Hart and Cube may invest the requisite manic and surly energy into their respective roles, but the visual discrepancy between them remains Ride Along 2‘s constant crutch. By the second time the movie emphasizes size to inspire laughs, it already proves trying, an outcome amplified in an effort that repeats its predecessor in every way it can. The same issues are exposed as a result, namely the stars’ awkwardness with each other; exaggerating their dissimilarities isn’t just used for gag purposes, or to patch over an average rehash, narrative-wise, but to mask the lack of rapport.
That clumsiness sits at odds with the breezy mood Story tries to wrap the entire movie up in, whether he’s supplementing chase scenes with a switch to video game-style imagery, pausing for leering shots of scantily-clad women, inserting dance moves into the mix, or filling air time with strained attempts at bantering dialogue. If the film feels like its cruising through familiar territory, it also feels as though it is doing so happily and willingly. In fact, more of the same is exactly what it sounds like with Ride Along 2, though that’s rarely a good thing. The only time the feature isn’t just trying to craft an affable-enough remake of the first movie’s opposites-attract buddy-cop hijinks, it’s endeavouring to drive into another series’ turf, courtesy of a street racing-set introduction notable only for the appearance of the Fast and Furious franchise’s Tyrese Gibson.
Rating: 2 stars out of 5
Ride Along 2
Director: Tim Story
USA, 2016, 102 mins
Release date: February 18
Distributor: Universal
Rated: M
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