Movie Review: 22 Jump Street

22 Jump Street (2014): After making their way through high school (twice), big changes are in store for officers Schmidt and Jenko when they go deep undercover at a local college.

Ok this movie is freaking brilliant. Spoiler: this movie is the best comedy I've seen of 2014 thus far. End of discussion. Bye bye. See ya later. But I bet you had a feeling that was the case. And that's not why you're here. Actually...this movie just might be the funniest sequel ever. Fun fact. But you're here because you want to know why. Am I right? If I'm not then legitimate question: why are you here? You know what? Doesn't matter. We're going to discuss why this is the best comedy of 2014 thus far. Ready? Ok let's do this!

Here's how you know you have something good: when a movie can spoof the genre it's in (over-the-top buddy cop movies) and yet still be a fantastic movie within that genre, you're on to something. When you have a movie that knows it's a sequel of a movie that was totally needless to begin with, and has so much fun with this fact and yet is still a good movie, you have something special. Right from the beginning, this movie just lays down the parodies and the smart humor and doesn't let up all the way through the credits. Oh my God the credits had my CRYING they were so funny. But that's what the movie does! It realizes that it's stupid. It realizes that the original is unnecessary and thus this one is pointless as well. It realizes that its premise is ridiculous. And it has an indescribable amount of fun with itself. From Nick Offerman's constant gag of pointing out the similarities of this mission to what they did the first time, to all the references to Ice Cube's previous endeavors, to the running gay joke between Hill and Tatum, (which is really smart and sweet) this movie constantly lays out some of the funniest jokes I have ever seen. I have....wait, do I have only one problem with this movie? C'mon self, surely I have two problems with this movie. No I don't. Holy sh*t I just assumed I had a second problem.....man by that rule that means that this movie deserves a 10. Um....well the one problem I have with this movie is that it gets a little too ridiculous in the third act. Right after one of the funniest fist fights I have ever seen, this movie just got me shaking my head a little too much at its ridiculous and it did take me out of the movie. Briefly. Briefly! But then it came roaring back, and delivered one of the best credits sequence I have ever seen. 

The acting was spot on. It's easy to say that oh! Jonah Hill is obviously a better actor than Channing Tatum. But in these movies their chemistry is so wonderful that they really are equals. Tatum lives up his persona as the dumb jock perfectly as Hill acts up his nerd side brilliantly as well. And Ice Cube has a far bigger role in this, and I am so glad that he does! He's brilliant as, well, himself in this, just like he was in the original. While I was saddened by the loss of Dave Franco (who is a very talented actor as well) he's made up for by the supporting cast in this movie. Also the cameos from start to finish are hilarious. Better than the original! Which is saying something given who showed up in the first one. The soundtrack was awesome (loved the use of M83's Midnight City but that's just cause I have a thing for M83 right now) and there was actually some pretty original editing tactics as well. You know what, let's just give the directors here some credit. Phil Lord and Christopher Miller's previous achievements include 21 Jump Street, Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs, and The Lego Movie. Ya. Decent list. And by decent I obviously mean awesome. Didn't think they could top The Lego Movie but guess what? They did. I cannot wait to see what they have up their sleeves next. 

So I hope I have convinced you of the greatness of 22 Jump Street. If you haven't seen this movie, go see it. Please. It's gonna be tough for anyone to top this.

The Critique: The funniest movie of 2014. Almost perfect, 22 Jump Street is one of the best parody movies I have ever seen.

The Recommendation: I'll say it: this is a must see for anyone who likes to laugh during a movie. Go see it.

Rewatchability: High

The Verdict: 9.5/10 Damn Near Perfect (I'm only giving this a 9.5 because c'mon, you can't give 22 Jump Street a 10 right? People would laugh at me!)

Oh right. This movie is 112 minutes long. Perfect length, in case you were wondering.


Photo Credit
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