21 Jump Street

Starring;

Jonah Hill

Channing Tatum

Ice Cube

Directors;

Phil Lord & Chris Miller

In three words; Fun – Subdued - Enjoyable

Plot;

New to the Police force Morton Schmidt (Hill) and Greg Jenko (Tatum) are appointed to an undercover service where they will infiltrate a high school to bring down a drug ring. Schmidt and Jenko are chosen, not for their policing skills (they are yet to make their first arrest) but because they look young enough to pass as high school kids.

Review;

Morton Schmidt and Greg Jenko both went to the same high school however they were not friends. Whilst Jenko was the popular jock Schmidt was the outcast geek trying desperately to fit in. However, after leaving high school they find each other again at Police Academy where they become best friends, assisting each other (If you’ve seen the flick FED’s this is basically what happens within ten minutes of the film) through to graduation.

Whilst they both have been dreaming of being cops for sometime the reality of the job does not live up to their expectations. And whilst they attempt their first arrest Jenko is unable to recall the Miranda rights, therefore the Police have no choice but to release the suspect. This humiliation leads to Jenko and his partner to be transferred to 21 Jump Street where they will start their undercover work, in high school.

Having not seen the original TV series I wasn’t sure what to expect and I get the impression that neither did the Directors. Whilst the film is enjoyable, and funny at times there seems to be confusion about what they wanted this film to be. Essentially this is a buddy cop comedy however; there were times where I felt the Directors were pulling the film in a different path. For me this should be an out and out comedy where Hill and Tatum play bumbling cops however they are desperate to been as serious in both characters and actors.

My main concern for this flick was Tatum; I have seen little of him previously and wasn’t expecting much. However, for me he gave a stronger performance than Hill. Perhaps Hill was underplaying his part to assist Tatum, or perhaps I’m being too harsh towards Tatum. The reason I say this is because Hill was rather subdued in his part and did not give the consistent performance we have previously seen from him.

Ice Cube plays his role as the Police Captain brilliantly; I really enjoyed his speech about being a stereotypical character. He brought the film together at times and I would have liked to have seen more of him onscreen. His part could have been utilised a lot better than it was.

Whilst this is an enjoyable film it does not flow as well as it should have. Scenes were often elongated and therefore the film lacked pace at times. I feel that the film should have gone towards being more like the Starsky and Hutch remake as the way it was portrayed lacked any direction. It was a daft idea that Jenko would forget the Miranda rights, could they not have come up with something better for him to struggle with? This was poor.

What was fun to watch was seeing them return to high school where Jenko becomes the outcast and Schmidt is in with the popular crowd. Will you go with one strap or two?!  

Verdict;

3 out of 5.