Review of 21 Jump Street (2012) by Jamie E — 07 Jan 2014

This is an incredibly entertaining film. It is funny enough to maintain an audience but also has enough drama to create suspense and a form of wit and intelligent viewing. Channing Tatum and Jonah Hill work off each other very well to create these multi layered genre dimensions.

There seems to be a real chemistry between the two which adds heart, something the film does need in order to create a sustainable story with proper character development and differ itself from other comedies set in a high school environment.

The supporting cast also adds a lot to the overall film's development. Brie Larson's Molly and Dave Franco's Eric are two definite highlights of the film because of both their portrayal and chemistry with the other actors.

The screenplay is very consistent, keeping the comedy going throughout the whole film, however near the end some scenes are a little too long with too much packed in dialogue. Also some scenes and sub-plots are extremely predictable and this really downs any tension which has been created prior.

Being classed as a Action/Comedy sadly does not really fit this movie, while it does have its traces of action and definitely some very cool scenes, for example the car chase, this is a comedy with some action but thats it.

21 Jump Street handles some big issues, while mostly it has been done well with comedy, a little action and some impressive character development it does risk being predictable and not direct enough with these major issues.

However it will please the majority of viewers and may surprise many with its witty comedy.