Susan Granger’s review of “Ride Along 2” (Universal Pictures)
After its predecessor grossed over $150 million, this sequel was inevitable, so rapper-turned-actor Ice Cube and comedian-turned-actor Kevin Hart are reunited as bickering, mismatched cops.
Having paid his dues as an Atlanta security guard, manic, motormouth’d Ben Barber (Hart) just graduated from the Police Academy and is now a rookie (probationary) cop, trying to measure up to his stern, soon-to-be brother-in-law, Det. James Payton (Cube), whose sister Angela (Tika Sumpter) is his fiancée.
This time, they’re off to Miami to track down a suspiciously slippery South Beach computer hacker, A.J. (Ken Jeong), which leads them to a suave millionaire businessman/philanthropist Antonio Pope (Benjamin Bratt), the sinister czar behind a major interstate drug pipeline.
Sloppily scripted as yet another buddy-cop comedy by Phil Hay and Matt Manfred, it’s formulaically directed at a fast pace by Tim Story – with lots of explosions and car chases, including one that evolves into what looks like a video game, and climaxes in a shipping-container storage yard.
“Classic!” Ben quips. “Something always goes down in a container yard!”
Not surprisingly, every woman in the cast – with the exception of the wedding planner, Cori (Sherri Shepherd) – wears sultry, skimpy attire, including a Miami homicide detective, Maya Cruz (Olivia Munn), who arrives at a crime scene clad in tights and a sports bra.
The funniest bit involves “Star Wars” trivia, which I suspect was ad-libbed, and to add a bit of “Fast and Furious” flavor, there’s even a cameo from that franchise’s Tyrese Gibson.
On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, “Ride Along 2” coasts in with a recycled 3, filled with silly slapstick.
