As with most of my reviews, I like to begin by discussing my expectations for a film prior to walking into the theater. At first, I had VERY low expectations for 21 Jump Street. It looked like another comedic misfire for "academy award nominee" Jonah Hill. However I read an interview with Hill where he said that this film was the second funniest movie he's ever made (after Superbad). With that statement and the 86% tomato rating, I was thoroughly convinced that this film was worth a Sunday afternoon viewing.

Now comedy is so subjective, that it's really hard to review. Just because the comedy worked/didn't work for me, doesn't mean the same will apply to you. But I'll try my best.

As far as the plot is concerned, 21 Jump Street is a modern day buddy cop movie where two young cops are forced to go undercover as high school students in order to infiltrate a local drug ring. Jonah Hill plays an intelligent yet apprehensive cop while Tatum is your typical dumb jock turned donut eating pig. While going undercover, Hill is widely accepted by his peers while Tatum has trouble fitting in do to his "too cool for school" persona (which used to serve him well during his glory days). Hill quickly loses track of his mission (because of his newly acquired popularity) while Tatum becomes increasingly frustrated and hangs out with nerds. The two throw parties, do drugs, and dabble in borderline illegal relations with minors. Nothing too deep obviously.

So was 21 Jump Street funny? Absolutely. Should you go see it? Definitely. Should you go see in theater? Ehh, perhaps.

Listen, if you and you're friends are in the mood for a laugh, then you should check it out. This is probably the first comedic film since Bridesmaids that is worth the cost of a movie ticket. But the less you expect, the more fun you'll have with the film. Personally, I thought the first quarter of the film was hilarious. It's well written, VERY smart, self aware, and an overall riot (who doesn't want to see Hill tea bagging a handcuffed perp?). It even pokes fun of it's recycled material. But after the first quarter, the film is just moderately amusing. A few chuckles here and there, but by no means a riot. At 2 hours, the film runs a little long. There are a few reasons for this. Mainly, the film is STUFFED with material. It goes in several different directions, yet doesn't make the most of the opportunities presented in the film. The film throws so many gags at you that the minor jokes just seem like filler and aren't really funny. Quite frankly, they're burdening. The direction and editing is also very flawed. The fight scenes are poorly captured and hard to follow. The editing is very haphazard and there are way too many cuts in the film. To make matters worse, the CGI sucks ass (and is way overused). I hate to criticize a comedy on it's poor cgi, but there were cgi cars in the film. Why can't you just use a real g oddamn car?! That's just being lazy. Not only is the entire movie improbable, but the relationship with Tatum and Hill feels both forced and unrealistic. Probably most burdening, Tatum and Hill's characters aren't consistent. They both say and do things that go against their persona.

Overall, 21 Jump Street is a good time, but not perfect. This film is no where close to Superbad. I enjoyed the film immensely, but would have enjoyed it more if I wasn't so critical of everything in life. But here's the kicker, 21 Jump Street is VERY funny and VERY entertaining, when it WANTS to be. When it tries to be clever, it succeeds. And I really wish that effort was put into the entire film instead of just the first 25 minutes or so.

Two quick things worth mentioning. Dax Flame is in the film and plays a much larger role than he does in Project X. Secondly, there is a HUGE cameo in this film. Seriously, I did a double take in the theater. Hands down the best cameo since BM in Zombieland. I hope no one ruins it for you, but it's cool at s hit.

In conclusion, this film gets a B- IMHO

I'm pretty much in line with our esteemed penguin on this one.
Thought the first act was a riot, and here's why...
Team work.

Right away Tatum & Hill buddy up in the academy. And I dig it lots.
Hill smartens Tatum up and Tatum buffs up Hill for the physical tests.
Classic. And it works just as well here.
The underachievers genuinely celebrate small victories like they won the World Series.
And it's very charming to watch.
That's when this film as it it's best IMO.

As to the cameo... I was down with it until the CG blood started flying.
My suspension of disbelief was tripped and I tuned out.

The undercover plot doesn't live up to the comic duo's talents.
But this is still a pretty darn appealing a lot of the time.
And in this day and age, that makes you a big hit!

E.D.

Yeah, liked this one. The strength like any buddy cop movie was the relationship between the two protags and this worked throughout IMO.

Also have to say that Tatum was a surprise and you could see that he had a lot of fun on this one.

There were lots of humorous moments and like Will said in his original review, lots of entertainment!

As for the cameo, loved it because it caught me by surprise even though I should know it was coming…and yes they did go over the top with it but it was fun all the same.