Ride Along 2 (2016)

Ben Barber (Hart) is riding high having just graduated from the police academy and one week away from marrying his beautiful fiancé, Angela (Tika Sumpter; Sparkle). When his future brother in law, James Payton (Cube) gets a lead on one of his suspect's supplier, he reluctantly takes Barber along to Miami to interrogate a witness, AJ (Ken Jeong, The Hangover).

Once in Miami, Barber and Payton uncover a crime ring worth billions of dollars.  With the help of Homicide Detective Maya (Olivia Munn; The Newsroom), they work to prove entrepreneur Antonio Pope (Benjamin Bratt; Miss Congeniality) is the mastermind behind the illegal activity and bring down the shady politicians he has been paying off.

If you take Ride Along 2 for what it is…a fun non-thinking every-man's movie, it isn't terrible.  The plot is thin and recycled and the acting is less than Oscar worthy, but there are a few laughs that make the movie watchable.

Hart is the hilarious funny guy to Cube's straight man and they work together well blending the ridiculous with the serious side of crime.  Munn is stiff and wooden and has no chemistry with her leading man, Cube.  Jeong adds his own comedic relief reminiscent of his role in The Hangover.  Bratt simply annoyed me and I found his Hispanic accent distracting.  There are a few laughs, and Sherry Shepherd (Precious) lands some of the best moments antagonizing Barber as Cori, their wedding coordinator.

The directing didn't add anything special to the film, but the moments during the car chase that became a video game were inspired, and added something new to the same old high speed pursuit.  The special effects were cheesy and obvious, which also was distracting at times.

I have no doubts this film will make plenty of money at the box office because it has a ready made built in audience but the quality level is sub-par.  There are laughs throughout the film and if you know what you are buying when you purchase your tickets, you won't be disappointed in this sequel.

Grade: C-