The sequel to “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” will open 18 months after the current blockbuster. That’s half the time George Lucas took between his installments of the franchise.
Let’s hope a year and a half is enough, because good sequels need time. Case in point: “Ride Along 2,” which opens exactly two years after the first “Ride Along.”
That first movie was funny and peppy, and it confirmed Kevin Hart’s star status. But the sequel feels rushed and barely sketched-out, written with no sense of where to find comedy in a buddy-cop movie.
The diminutive Hart returns as Ben Barber, a hyper counterpart to veteran Atlanta police officer James Payton (Ice Cube), whose sister (Tika Sumpter) plans to marry Ben. The first film established that — much to James’s chagrin — Ben was a great enthusiast of police work.
In “Ride Along 2,” Ben is actually a trainee on the force, and screenwriters Phil Hay and Matt Manfredi let him tag along with James on a case in Miami. Pretty much the same set-up, in other words, but this time with palm trees.
The good thing about the first movie was that most scenes set up Kevin Hart to riff on some absurd situation while Ice Cube stood around stone-faced. If the comedian is inspired enough, that can be enough to justify a movie.
But oh boy, not this time. For one thing, there’s too much plot, about a Florida shipping magnate (Benjamin Bratt) receiving — I don’t know, an illegal shipment, or something. Nobody cares what the plot’s about in a movie like this, so it makes you wonder why this one is so complicated.
“Ride Along 2” brings in “Hangover” regular Ken Jeong as a nerdy hacker; I guess he’s supposed to be what Joe Pesci was in the “Lethal Weapon” sequels. Another addition is Olivia Munn, as a serious Miami cop. She’s given just about nothing to do.
The isolated laughs can’t disguise the long patches of tedium. As though drawing plot twists from a jar, director Tim Story throws in an alligator attack and a video-game sequence at random moments, while finding time for Ben to be whacked in the head by a ceiling fan.
Actually, the ceiling fan gag is kind of a high point. Time to let this franchise fade away, while Kevin Hart goes in search of greener, and funnier, pastures.
“Ride Along 2” 1 1/2 stars
A big let-down from the 2014 original. Where the first movie let peppy Kevin Hart riff on absurd situations while Ice Cube stood around looking stone-faced, this sequel is overwhelmed by plot and a lack of comedic set-ups. Ken Jeong and Olivia Munn join the cast, to little avail.
Rating: PG-13, for language, subject matter
Showing: Alderwood, Cinnebarre, Everett Stadium, Galaxy Monroe, Marysville, Meridian, Oak Tree, Woodinville, Cascade Mall
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