Ride Along 2

This review may contain spoilers!

While not better than the original this film certainly is a worthy sequel that carries the story on extremely well. I would give Ride Along 2 a 6/10.

This film creates a strong comedic scenario, in fact a greater majority of this film (particularly the action sequences) are incredibly well written and some of most well written humour that I've seen since Daddy's Home. The cinematography in this film is some of the best that I've seen in a comedy film, it's not all particularly mind-blowing but this film has a great sense of style to it. The special effects, particularly the explosion effects look really good in this film; however the opening car/foot chase and the CGI alligator also look really good. However it is the soundtrack of this film that really stands out, not only is this fitting for an action film but it is also perfectly timed and chosen to aid and enhance the comedic moments of the film.

Olivia Munn, who played Maya, is a really strong lead that mirrored Cube extremely well; I love that she could steal a scene and demand the most attention in any given scene. Bruce McGill, who played Lt. Brooks, is just as enjoyable in this film as he was in the first film; his gruff play on the generic police captain is immediately one of the most entertaining characters of the film. Sherri Shepherd, who played Cori, is an incredible presence in this film; her comedic and intimidating role overshadows Hart in every scene she shares with him. Carlos Gomez, who played Captain Hernandez, is yet another commanding police figure that I liked in this film; I liked that Gomez's role was charismatic but also showed an incredible display of anger when given cause. Tyrese Gibson, who played Mayfield, is a really good cameo in this film; Gibson's strong and intimidating police detective really works well alongside Ice cube's performance.

However the best performance came from Ice Cube, who played James Payton. Cube is the strongest leading performance of the film who embodies the intimidating and skilled cop extremely well. He has a strong presence onscreen and you enjoy seeing him play a role in the action sequences and interrogations. He's one of the funnier performances almost out of his character's resistance to Hart's role; you enjoy how much he antagonises his annoying sidekick.

The plot of this film is another generic crime story, the type that has come to exist as the backdrop to all the action/comedy films and is by no means memorable. This film really kicks off on a high note but about halfway through the film this energy peters out and the action slows right down, from there on out the film suffers a lot of pacing problems even heading into the final action scene. The editing isn't anywhere near as good as the cinematography, the cuts are very basic and don't aid the pacing problems at all.

Kevin Hart, who played Ben Barber, tries far too hard in this film; his comedic onslaught is too much and someone probably needed to tell him to dial it back. Tika Sumpter, who played Angela Payton, was one of the best parts of the first Ride Along and is completely underused in this film; I wish Sumpter had been given a stronger screen presence in this feature.Benjamin Bratt, who played Antonio Pope, gave a very generic performance of an antagonist in this film; I think Bratt did a good enough job but there is just simply nothing that makes his character stand out. Ken Jeong, who played A.J, is a very crude and annoying character in this film; Jeong is one of the characters who contributes the least to this film and he is given more screen time than he deserves. Michael Rose, who played Gates, was a very generic hitman to Bratt's generic antagonist; it ultimately felt like Rose wasn't even playing a character so much as a man wielding a gun. Arturo del Puerto, who played Alonso, has a really weak presence in this film; he only has scenes in which the film needs someone to help advance the narrative along. Eric Goins, who played Assface, was overused in the first Ride Along and he didn't even need to be in this one; Goins isn't funny and adds nothing beyond a pointless minor character to this film.