Tyvarrus Lindsey and Ashton D. Nash
MC Contributor/Staff Writers
“Ride Along 2” opened in theaters on Jan. 15 and gave audiences just what the first movie provided, comedy and adventure.
Starring comedic veteran Kevin Hart and rapper turned actor Ice Cube, the cop comedy sequel has mixed reviews. With a production budget of $25 million, the movie has already proven to be financial success and has grossed over $134 million at the box office.
The sequel picks up with Ben and Angela’s wedding seemingly right around the corner. Ben (Hart) is now a rookie police officer that is still accident-prone and shadowing brother-n-law James (Cube) on a case involving a kingpin that ultimately leads them to Miami, Fla. While there are some new aspects to the movie, Ben leaning onto his video- game skills to help him through sticky situations is used again and at times the plot and scenes are repetitive.
However, two new characters are introduced, AJ the computer whiz who is an accomplice to the Kingpin and offers jokes and laughter alongside Ben. Maya, a detective working on the case with Ben and James is also introduced and becomes a love interest for James.
The sequel was enjoyed by a majority of the audience, but was panned by the critics. One common critique shared by many critics was that it seems to cling too much to the formula of the original. Most viewers felt that the sequel lacked originality and looked tired.
According to the critics, the movie has an unrealistic and repetitive feel to it. The charge is that the movie is somehow diluted. Viewers felt that with a rehash of the same old thing, the impact is lessened somehow. Many critics feel that the dynamics of the two main characters relationship has changed.
Although many critics feel that the sequel was just a mash up from the original movie with fewer jokes and authenticity there are still some viewers that enjoyed the movie.
“Overall, the movie was good. It had some funny scenes with Kevin Hart especially the party scene,” said Charles Young, a senior political science major from Yazoo City, Miss. “The sequel was more amusing and the chemistry between Hart and Cube seemed to be organic.”
The success from this movie can either be a hit or miss. The greatest asset and savior to the movie was Hart and his jokes. Most of everything done in the movie including special effects, lighting, explosions and banter was simply done bigger.
“The movie was just okay to me, Kevin Hart is funny but the jokes to me were far and few in between,” said Shawntianna Smith- Harris, a senior from San Diego, Calif.
Obviously the audience may understand what the critics don’t, that the movie not meant to be taken seriously, but simply to provide some much needed comedy.
