21 Jump Street

Two young police officers, Schmidt (Jonah Hill) and Jenko (Channing Tatum), make a mess of their first arrest and as punishment are sent to join the secret unit at 21 Jump Street. For their first assignment they are to go undercover in their local high school posing as students in order to infiltrate a drug ring. But school turns out to be a lot different to what they left only a few years ago and going back will stretch their friendship to the limit!

I never watched the TV series so I'm not sure what fans of the original 21 Jump Street will make of this film. It feels like a loving homage and at the same time a knowing piss-take. I guess going in with low or no expectations is the best way to approach it. I was excited about it being a new Jonah Hill comedy and was hoping for a few laughs. And I got more than that. The film is hilarious! Consistent laugh out loud moments, even if some of the jokes are recycled, they still somehow work. It's a crude, tongue in cheek, hectic non-stop action / buddy comedy that is fully aware of its own ridiculousness.

Jonah Hill (who also co-wrote the script) and Channing Tatum make a good team, with Tatum surprisingly funny and less wooden than usual. It took me a while to realise one of the high school kids in the film was James Franco's little brother Dave, he looks and sounds so much like him! Ice Cube gets some juicy lines as the tough talking police captain, Brie Larson provides the gentle romantic interest, and there's a great cameo by a star actor towards the end, which hopefully will come as a surprise if you haven't read spoilerific reviews elsewhere.

UK release date: 16th March 2012