Review of Ride Along (2014) by Harry W — 09 Sep 2014

With both Kevin Hart and Ice Cube headlining, Ride Along sounded like a simple and fun comedy.

Ride Along is essentially just a star vehicle for Ice Cube and Kevin Hart because its plot is a very thin and unoriginal one. Although this was pretty much all I expected. But the film went below my expectations simply because of the fact that the material was not up to par with the cast. Despite the fact that Ice Cube and Kevin Hart play out their natural comic archetypes. The script in the film is very thinly written which leaves the film going in circles of repetitive dynamics from start to finish with no surprises along the way. There is actually so little plot in the film that by the point it had passed the 60 minute mark I was surprised. There is so little narrative in Ride Along that it is just pathetic, and it is so short on script that it barely ever feels like anything more than a comedy sketch which was somehow stretched into a feature length film beyond conceivable reason.

Ride Along is an unoriginal film. Its premise has been seen a few too many times in countless other films, with the general feel of the film feeling like it meets in the crosshairs of 48 Hrs and Cop and a Half. The premise of the film does not transcend the countless other entries into the genre in any real way whatsoever because the impact of the film is so diminutive that it becomes forgettable really fast. Ride Along makes so little comic impact, but unlike most comedies it doesn't suffer because it tries too hard so much as the fact that it really does not try hard enough. The screenplay in Ride Along does not live up to the general standard of buddy cop films, and despite the fact that there were four writers involved in crafting it, there must have been a distinct failure to communicate between them because entertainment in any category. Ride Along is a film which really starts nowhere and goes no further, and despite a few sporadic laughs over the course of the film, as a whole the experience was a wasteful one.

The cast in Ride Along are able to breathe a mild source of life into the project.

Kevin Hart is the primary reason to watch Ride Along. As he is currently a growing star who is easily on his way to becoming the next Eddie Murphy, he is worth seeing in Ride Along just to see him progress. While the character he is stuck with is a thin and weak one which does not get all that much out of him, his presence in the film is genial because his natural energy is great and because he remains involved in the material so easily the entire time. Kevin Hart is great in Ride Along because he really take a hold of the opportunity and creates a compelling lead performance. Ride Along succeeds merely in the area of proving what Kevin Hart will have to offer in the future, in films when the material is better and demands more of him. Kevin Hart proves a likable asset in Ride Along and shows how well he can do when he teams up with another comedian like Ice Cube, even when the material is not on par with the finest elements of his comic persona. His natural spirit is essentially the finest element of the film and is likely to have viewers optimistic about where his career will take him next so long as the script ends up funnier than the lacklustre one he is forced through in Ride Along.

Ice Cube gives a decent performance as well. Ride Along fails to live up to his talents either, but that's because the material requires little of his abilities at over the top comedy. The role demands him to be quite serious the whole time and expects the humour in him to be subtle, but a buddy cop film requiring stereotypical African-American humour to carry it should give him more chances. Unfortunately, the humour in the film is way too subtle and so Ice Cube's performance is not able to help that. But still, it is entertaining to see him up and active again in mainstream cinema because his performance in Ride Along proves that he's still got it. The nature of his line delivery is firm and confident, and he keeps himself involved in the story properly. Ice Cube plays the role out pretty straight in Ride Along which means that he fits the profile of the role pretty easily, and even though the character her is stuck with is not that funny and is more about the dramatic aspects of the story.

The comic chemistry between Kevin Hart and Ice Cube proves to be somewhat entertaining. While most of the material is insufficient, many of the situations that come from the two actors going at each other prove to supply a few laughs here and there. With Kevin Hart being so comic and Ice Cube being so serious the entire time, there is a certain sense of contrast between the two which gives the film an interesting and tense atmosphere as well as a sense of unpredictability. While it isn't milked for all that it could have been, the two actors do make a decent team in Ride Along because they are easily able to build off each other in every scene and lighten up the dreary mood of the film for the better. Given better material, Kevin Hart and Ice Cube could have been hilarious in Ride Along.

So despite the fact that Kevin Hart is mostly game in Ride Along and Ice Cube is good to see active again, Ride Along is a thoroughly unoriginal and uncreative comedy film which lacks laughs, action or essentially any of the necessary positive elements required to make a good or even decent buddy cop film.