Their mission, should they choose to accept it, is to head off to college and bust the drug dealers responsible for a young woman's death. Undercover mismatched buddy cops Schmidt (Jonah Hill) and Jenko (Channing Tatum) are sent to the new headquarters of Captain Dickson (Ice Cube) at 22 Jump Street. The movie picks up where its predecessor, 21 Jump Street (a spoof-adaptation of the TV series of the same name), left off. 22 Jump Street's best scene features his reaction shot, and it's priceless. Then there's Ice Cube, who has never been used more perfectly than here. Consider, for example, a fight between Jonah Hill and Jillian Bell that plays up an element of sexual tension. There are instances, however, when it's equal parts laugh-aloud funny and bizarre.
The humor, as is often the case with big budget comedies, of the hit-and-miss variety. The screenplay also gets a lot of mileage from the notion of a 31-year old and a 34-year old playing just-graduated high school students. It acknowledges that sequels are typically inferior retreads, mocks the concept of a "meet cute," and takes the "bromance" idea deep into homoerotic territory. One of the strengths of 22 Jump Street is the way in which it plays with conventions and cinematic rules. As it is, it will be remembered as co-directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller's second-best film of the year (behind The Lego Movie).
On balance, the film has just enough to earn it a recommendation but, with a little trimming to a too-fat running time and less focus on the action elements of the "comedy/action" label, 22 Jump Street might have earned a place as one of 2014's most memorable comedies. Unfortunately, those instances are outnumbered by segments that don't work for one reason or another. There are times when 22 Jump Street is borderline brilliant.
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