CHiPs

This review may contain spoilers!

Your classic buddy cop action-comedy that doesn't strive to do anything new at all. I would give CHiPs a 3/10.

This film does a good job at showcasing the partnership between Ponch and Baker after a rocky start, you really like the camaraderie the pair have throughout the feature and some of the more impactful scenes are pulled off due to this, not least of which the scene where Baker is rushed to intensive care. The film commits pretty well to it's dark and sarcastic comedy, not all of it lands but some of the best moments of wit come from this range of comedy. The chase scenes really steal the show, not necessarily because they do anything unique but just because they're very action driven moments. The soundtrack of the film wasn't always used well but when it was the comedy certainly benefited from it, 'Rosanna' by Toto and 'Paranoid' by Black Sabbath are especially due some honourable mentions.

Dax Shepard, who played Jon Baker, is a pretty aloof yet immediately likeable protagonist; His drive to succeed and blind attempts to win his wife back make you root for him from the start even if he has a lot to learn throughout. Vincent D'Onofrio, who played Vic Brown, has always done great antagonists and delivers nothing less than that in this film; D'Onofrio also adds some heart and motivation behind his character's rage when we see him as a struggling single father attempting to get his son free from drug addiction. Maya Rudolph, who played Sgt. Hernandez, brought forth one of the funnier scenes in the movie; her over the top passion for Shepard's love life issues was quite a bit of fun to watch. Rosa Salazar, who played Ava, steals the show as the female lead of this feature and an actress I'm really expecting to see on the rise in the next few years; Salazar brings a tough tomboyish role who forms a pretty genuine and sweet connection with Shepard over the course of the film. Isiah Whitlock Jr., who played Peterson, is the tough FBI head and leader role this film needs to keep it on track; Whitlock Jr.'s sharp and commanding tone is perfect contrasted against Pena's evasive and cocky character.

However the best performance came from Michael Pena, who played Frank 'Ponch' Poncherello. Pena has proven himself to be one hell of an actor over recent years so it's no surprise to see him stand out in this comedy film. It would be easy to play the role of Ponch as quite a stereotypical figure but Pena refuses to do that, rather he takes the role and brings out a very natural development of a role. At first Pena is very cocky and filled with bravado, he believes himself not only above the law but superior to the people around him. However after some initial frustration and conflict we get the chemistry between him and Shepard that we've been holding out for. The two naturally bounce off one another and it's even clear that Pena comes to value someone he'd previously viewed as an idiot. Yeah Ponch might be a sex-crazed arrogant FBI agent at first but by the end of the film we have more of a laidback and loyal highway patrol officer.

This film falls flat by developing a plot that we've seen in literally every action-comedy released; The Other Guys, Jump Street and Ride Along all pulled the same basic moves that this film did, only better. CHiPs isn't very interested in making the bad guy's too interesting or even raising the stakes all that high, you fail to become invested in Jon Baker's marriage issues and Ponch's sex addiction has to be one of the most cringeworthy subplots used in a comedy this year. Where the film really fails itself is that there's no natural build to Baker and Ponch becoming friends, it very suddenly happens after the two being at odds for quite a while. The cinematography throughout the film has the eye of someone with ideas about how to catch action scenes but no idea how to film the rest of the scenes. The editing also dragged out the pace, often bringing in cuts either too late or too early.

Jessica McNamee and Ryan Hansen, who played Lindsey Taylor and Brian Grieves respectively, weren't very memorable cast members in the film; not only were they playing throwaway henchmen but they didn't even have any moments where they were particularly comedic. Adam Brody, who played Clay Allen, is in this film as a gag role; you watch Pena shoot Brody for a good laugh but other than that his role has no purpose. Kristen Bell, who played Karen, gives a performance that doesn't really feel like should put a great deal into it; Bell's character is very self-centred and vain which just doesn't come to her naturally. Justin Chatwin, who played Raymond Reed Kurtz Jr., had a rather weak screen presence; it would have been nice to see Chatwin and D'Onofrio in more scenes together so that you cared about their father and son relationship. Richard T. Jones, who played Parish, is about as stereotypical as you can get; Jones' brash and self-righteous cop who is blindly defending his dead partner's honour is a bit plain. Jane Kaczmarek, who played Jane Lindel, is utterly cringeworthy throughout the film; her Facetime call with Pena will probably make you want to projectile vomit. Jess Rowland, who played Rathbun, is quite a background performer throughout the film; he was consistently being eclipsed by Salazar or even McNamee.