Review of Ride Along (2014) by Panta O — 27 Apr 2014

Bad reviews for this action comedy directed by Tim Story and written by Greg Coolidge, Jason Mantzoukas, Phil Hay, and Matt Manfredi, didn't stop me watching it. Mainly, because I like watching a film starring Ice Cube... plus when you have Kevin Hart, John Leguizamo, Bryan Callen, Tika Sumpter and Laurence Fishburne... doesn't sound too bad.

The movie story opens with James Payton (Ice Cube), on an undercover operation where fake passports are being smuggled into Atlanta, an operation that James believes would lead him to catch a man named "Omar". After a shootout with the smugglers, and a car chase that leads one injured, the lieutenant leading the case ask James to drop the case on "Omar", something James doesn't. Ben Barber (Kevin Hart), a fast-talking, jumpy high school security guard, applies for the Atlanta City Police Academy, and when he gets in, decides to ask James for his blessings to marry his sister Angela (Tika Sumpter). James then says Ben has to be worthy of Angela, making him go on a "ride along" to prove it.

As usually, Ice is cold and mean, while Kevin is warm and happy... that combination worked well in this movie. I wish that the screenwriters were braver, that way they would invent new situations, not just sticking to the old cliché formula. But, it is still good enough for an evening with lots of popcorn!