Review:
"Ride Along"
Release Date: Jan. 17, 2014
Rating: PG Running Time: 100 minutes Ride Along plays out like the buddy action comedy that Ice Cube and Chris Tucker never made outside of the Friday franchise. Instead of the reclusive Tucker, who’s back in hiding after making 2012’s The Silver Linings Playbook, Ice Cube is paired with that equally excitable loudmouth, Kevin Hart. Cube’s the maverick detective who takes Hart on a ride along for a day under the pretense of bonding with his prospective brother-in-law. Cube’s real agenda, though, is to scare Hart into dropping out of the police academy, which he hopes would ruin Hart’s plan to propose to Cube’s sister. Cube’s dislike of Hart prompts director Tim Story to put Hart in predictably danger situations, such as confronting a group of loitering bikers or trying to thwart a holdup. Unfortunately, Hart’s efforts to blab his way out of harm’s way aren’t as funny as they could be because his fast-talking becomes white noise quicker than anticipated. At least Hart brings his manic energy to Ride Along. The stoic Cube’s obviously the straight man, but he’s more concerned with exuding tough-guy coolness that he’s gives Hart nothing to bounce off. One wonders how much funnier Ride Along would have been if the intending pairing of Dwayne Johnson and Ryan Reynolds had worked out. Or if Hart went head to head with the comically gifted Johnson. Story, who previously worked with Cube on Barbershop before being allowed to wreck havoc on the Fantastic Four franchise, keeps Ride Along moving at a high speed toward the inevitable showdown between Cube and the mysterious crime lord he’s been trying to bust for years. Care to guess who inadvertently helps Cube get his man? While Ride Along does little to distinguish itself from other buddy action comedies, Universal’s already commissioned a script for a sequel that will doubtless find Cube reluctantly taking on Hart as a partner. Can’t imagine any prospective sequel being any less memorable than the day Cube and Hart share in Ride Along. Robert Sims Aired: Jan. 16, 2014 Web site: http://www.ridealong.com/ |
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