Review of 21 Jump Street (2012) by Giulio A — 12 Jan 2015

Quite entertaining, didn't disappoint.

Comedy is not among my more preferred genres. Its my choice mostly when I am stressed out or bored for refreshing my mind. Starting with 21 Jump Street I was ready to just have some fun whether it made much sense or not. In the end I was quite surprised the movie really invested me in its story not only catching with its gags. It starts off a bit slow but gradually transforms into a fun action- comedy ride.

21 Jump Street involves story of two cop-buddies Scmidt (Jonah Hill) and Jenko (Chaning Tatum) who are assigned an undercover operation to track down drug dealers and suppliers at their own high school where they had studied. Schmidt is more of a nerd type while Jenko falls into cool handsome guy category still they became very good friends while training at Police Academy. Well there is nothing special about the story, its easy to see the direction in which its heading. Yet the movie is able to put forth a nice enjoyable chemistry between its lead pair. There were some moments involving both of them that were genuinely heart warming which was hugely surprising. Ice Cube who plays the head of the undercover division is also pretty entertaining. Additionally Dave Franco and Brie Larson have smaller roles as students. Romance gets added which wasn't quite the right tone. There is also lot of action with guns firing and car chases but its all balanced out nicely. Among the most funny scenes I would say was the whole driving-school car sequence. There were some really laugh out loud moments.

In the climax there is stunning cameo which I did not see coming from any possible angle. I wont say a word about it, enjoy it on your own. The soundtrack and music suit the atmosphere and theme perfectly. But I felt a little problem with flow of the scenes, there are some sudden change from a comic aspect to emotional or romantic one. Lot of profanity is involved much of it seems to be there just to sound cool without making any sense. Phil Lord and Christopher Miller keep film nicely paced without much putting burden over the climax. In the end I wasn't disappointed and had some good laughs.

RATING: [3/5].