Review – Ride Along 2

I wasn’t a big fan of the first Ride Along (2014).  I thought it had a couple funny moments, but the plot was pointless and the movie was saved by the team of Ice Cube and Kevin Hart.  Did we need a sequel?  Of course not.  But the first one made a ton of money, so of course we got one.  And like most sequels, in “Ride Along 2” we get bigger locations, nicer cars, and bigger explosions.  However, we get fewer laughs, stilted acting from the supporting cast, and a plot that just doesn’t matter.

As his wedding day looms closer, Ben (Kevin Hart) is taken to Miami by his future brother-in-law James (Ice Cube) to help bring down a drug dealer who is supplying drugs to Atlanta.  However, the trip doesn’t go as planned, and the guys are in jeopardy of losing the case and missing the wedding.

Kevin Hart is quickly wearing out his welcome.  Every movie he plays the same spastic, loud, troublesome man-child and frankly, it’s getting annoying.  I wish he would take it down a couple notches like how he was in Paper Solders (2002) and Soul Plane (2004).  He was still funny in those movies, but he wasn’t trying that hard.  Hart reminds me of a guy who once told a really, really funny joke at a party, and now at every party, he tells the same joke.  A couple people who haven’t heard the joke laugh, some people who are just nice people snicker a little to make him feel good, but the rest of us are tired of it.  Ice Cube has a few quick one-liners that are pretty funny and he plays a scowling cop better than anyone.  Ken Jeong has the best moments in the film, though they are few and far between.  Olivia Munn’s talent is wasted and Benjamin Bratt is the bad guy with a horrendous accent.  Is it French?  Cuban?  Some sort of Spanish?  I have no idea.

Once again, the plot is pointless.  It’s a standard, unoriginal plot where you can pick apart every “twist”.  There is a weird video game driving scene that was very random and childish.  It was like the director said, “Hey.  The kids like video games.  Put a video game driving scene in here.  They’ll love it.”  Can’t say I did.  There is also a terrible love story between Ice Cube and Olivia Munn that has no spark and is awkwardly forced, like when your friends set you up on a date you don’t want to go on.

Ride Along 2 is a near laughless comedy with a bigger budget.  It takes a talented cast and wastes them in an unnecessary sequel.  I predict this movie will be successful at the box office, which will probably lead to a third Ride Along film, which will be the same Kevin Hart joke, just at a different party.

MY RATING – 1.5/4

Did you see Ride Along 2?  What did you think?  Comment below or hit me up on Twitter @kevflix or on Facebook at Kevflix.