There’s something to be said for the classic buddy cop movie for its simplicity. In Ride Along 2 Detective James Payton (Ice Cube) is the quintessential hard-nosed cop that always gets his man. Ben Barber (Kevin Hart) is the recruit fresh out of the academy on probation looking to prove himself to everyone especially his “partner”.  What sets this franchise apart from others is this crime-fighting duo are soon to be in laws.

The laughs and action of Ride Along 2 are non-stop but there are some moments where the story seems rushed. There are several scenes with gut busting moments some of which have not been seen in trailers and action sequences which earn both Cube and Hart their action star stripes. The relationship between the pair has progressed since the first Ride Along in that Cube at least seems to tolerate Hart’s character a very tiny bit more. A tiny bit.

In the sequel Detective Payton and Officer Barber are dispatched to Miami to track down a cyber hacker who is the key to breaking a case in Atlanta. While in Miami the case and plot thickens as the pair comes across a much wider case.  Add in the a few more characters like Ken Jeongh who plays the cyber hacker ,Olivia Munn, Ice Cube’s badass Miami PD counterpart and lastly Benjamin Bratt’s villainous character Antonio Pope and the stage is set.

Ride Along 2 doesn’t suffer from bad acting only the somewhat undeveloped story line in at least one area: what is Officer Barber played by Kevin Hart doing on this case? Well maybe that’s what makes it a winner. I’d go see it again and not only for Tika Sumpter, the future Mrs. Black Hammer. The acting, the action, and the laughs are definitely worth the trip to the theater.

Ride Along 2 is rated PG-13

www.ridealong.com

DeWarren Smith