22 Jump Street | Film Review

22 Jump Street is no joke

22 Jump Street came to play. This sequel was jam packed with ironic references and comments about itself, so much so that it was in fact criticising and reviewing itself, making it extremely difficult to find any flaws. It was a buddy cop movie about all other buddy cop movies, it was a sequel movie about all other sequel movie, and most unexpectedly, it was a love story about all other love stories. This movie was so aware of itself being a movie that it was frightening at first, I went into the cinema expecting some funny gags and comedic action, but instead I was pleased to have stumbled upon an epic comedy with just the right amount of ‘meta’. The directors Lord and Miller anticipate any observation, objection or criticism the audience may have, and lets them know that the movie knows already, and it just doesn’t care.

Characters repeatedly made remarks about how similar the investigation was to the previous one, and how they were simply doing the ‘exact same thing’ in college rather than in high school. As well as the fact that this film is a sequel and they have been given more money to make it, and the common notion that the sequel is always worse than its predecessor. However the movie itself is not a spoof, but more of a commentary on the clichés and nature of buddy cop films and sequels in general.

Main conflict in the movie is actually the relationship between Jenko (Channing Tatum) and Schmidt (Jonah Hill), figuring out whether or not they still need each other, or whether it would be better to accept their differences and take separate paths, thus deeply exploring ideas of companionship and long lasting relationships.

Tatum and Hill make a brilliant duo, both playing their roles to perfection.
Tatum, portraying a beef headed, oblivious nice guy, that will look for any excuse to use his physical parkour skills. Meanwhile Hill, portrays a character who is loyal to his partner and seeks to find a way to pull his weight, since he cannot perform a single acrobatic stunt. What is even funnier about Hill’s character is that he is meant to be the brains of the pair, however he never really shows any intelligence, creating a team that has no real idea of what they are doing.

Ice Cube adds another dimension to this comedy, even with his limited screen time, he has the ability to be so menacing, but in a way that’s only menacing to the characters, but quite comical to the audience. His presence always results in laughter from the crowd, and this film explores his character in a little more depth as we meet his family.

The final credit sequence was a nice surprise, listing all possible sequels to the Jump Street franchise in a funny but relevant way. I felt as if Lord and Miller were trying to send a final message that they was nothing, no joke or gag that the audience can think of that they didn’t put in the film.

I found myself in fits of laughter throughout the film, and it was definitely worth it to watch it in a theatre full of laughter. This movie is the real deal, there was nothing ‘stupid’ about it. They went all in, and pretty much extinguished any chance of a sequel to this sequel mocking-self aware-meta comedy, but I think it was most definitely worth it.