As his wedding day approaches, Ben heads to Miami
with his soon-to-be brother-in-law James to bring down a drug dealer
who's supplying the dealers of Atlanta with product.
Director:
Tim StoryWriters:
Phil Hay, Matt ManfrediStoryline
The RIDE ALONG 2 sequel picks up about a year after our heroes' last
adventure. Plans for a quick trip to Miami go bad. With the wedding
upcoming, James reluctantly takes Ben with him to Miami to follow up on a
lead connected to a drug ring case he's been trying to crack. In Miami,
they meet Maya, a no-BS homicide detective who lets them know Miami is
her turf. They also encounter AJ, a shady cocky computer hacker who
reveals evidence that implicates a well-respected local businessman, the
wealthy Antonio Pope. Pope harbors a vicious streak and rules South
Florida's drug trade. If Ben and James can convince the authorities that
Pope is a brutal crime boss they'll stop his spree. If they fail, well
there may not be a wedding after all. Written by
DeAlan Wilson www.ComedyE.com
User Reviews
Misfires, even with low audience expectations
I am a Kevin Hart fan.
Some comedians just have the innate ability to make you laugh, and I
feel like he has that indescribable ability. My expectations were for
low, like for every comedy sequel and I wanted to like this movie.
But...
The audience expectations for a comedy sequel are so low it should be relatively straightforward for the screenwriter and director to satisfy us. The situation is perfectly setup for a studio / audience win win. Give us recycled jokes in a new setting, we laugh through a forgettable movie and studio makes bank. Unfortunately, in my opinion, Ride Along 2 falls prey to the usual sequel pitfalls and doesn't even give Kevin Hart room to maneuver.
The best parallel to a recent movie I can think of is The Hangover Part II. Part I was so funny, everyone was going to give Part II a watch, hoping it would top the first installment. Instead you got the sequel trap - recycled jokes (still can be funny), but the bigger budget distracted the director.
That encapsulates Ride Along 2. Unfortunately, the bigger budget means less time for Kevin Hart to be funny and more action scenes, which no one really cares about. Watching the movie, I felt like I had to impatiently wait during the usual foot chase / car chase / shootout scenes to get rewarded with a Kevin Hart joke.
We did not pay money to watch ice cube shoot at bad guys. We wanted to laugh at Kevin Hart. It is so frustrating because the formula for success is so easy to execute. Show us the beginning or ending of action scenes and give Kevin more time to play off the stone faced ice cube. Ice cube doesn't even need to act to play the straight cop, anyone could do it. But instead we get way too long action scenes, romantic ice cube subplot (which is so unrealistic it actually distracts the viewer and takes away from the movie) and less laughs.
If you are on a plane or want to put on a movie as you fall asleep, Ride Along 2 is the play. Don't waste time and money in the actual theater for this one.
The audience expectations for a comedy sequel are so low it should be relatively straightforward for the screenwriter and director to satisfy us. The situation is perfectly setup for a studio / audience win win. Give us recycled jokes in a new setting, we laugh through a forgettable movie and studio makes bank. Unfortunately, in my opinion, Ride Along 2 falls prey to the usual sequel pitfalls and doesn't even give Kevin Hart room to maneuver.
The best parallel to a recent movie I can think of is The Hangover Part II. Part I was so funny, everyone was going to give Part II a watch, hoping it would top the first installment. Instead you got the sequel trap - recycled jokes (still can be funny), but the bigger budget distracted the director.
That encapsulates Ride Along 2. Unfortunately, the bigger budget means less time for Kevin Hart to be funny and more action scenes, which no one really cares about. Watching the movie, I felt like I had to impatiently wait during the usual foot chase / car chase / shootout scenes to get rewarded with a Kevin Hart joke.
We did not pay money to watch ice cube shoot at bad guys. We wanted to laugh at Kevin Hart. It is so frustrating because the formula for success is so easy to execute. Show us the beginning or ending of action scenes and give Kevin more time to play off the stone faced ice cube. Ice cube doesn't even need to act to play the straight cop, anyone could do it. But instead we get way too long action scenes, romantic ice cube subplot (which is so unrealistic it actually distracts the viewer and takes away from the movie) and less laughs.
If you are on a plane or want to put on a movie as you fall asleep, Ride Along 2 is the play. Don't waste time and money in the actual theater for this one.
