21 Jump Street (2012)

Directed by: Phil Lord, Chris Miller.
21 Jump Street is a cinematic revival of the 80’s television show, which starred Johnny Depp. It’s an action/comedy about two underachieving ‘cops’ that head back to high school on an undercover mission to find the supplier of fictional drug ‘HFS’.Whilst the genre is action-comedy, the action (a car chase and a shoot-out) is a small part of the film, it’s the humor that you walk away remembering. I would definitely class this as a comedy, and with Channing Tatum and a slim-looking Jonah Hill take the leading roles, it’s definitely more about the humor than the action.Tatum and Hill are a surprising combination, but they definitely work well together, however Tatum fails to achieve the humor that Hill provides. Their characters are predictable – Hill plays the self-conscious, nerd, the role we’re so used to seeing him in, and Tatum is the typical ‘jock’ type; athletic and a bit on the dumb side. However the film subverts these roles in the High School environment, and amusingly it is Schmidt (Jonah Hill) who gets to live out the fantasy we all have of reliving High School but being far more popular, whilst Jenko (Channing Tatum) ends up befriending a group of nerds, and being shunned by the popular crowd. It’s a fresh take on the teen comedy genre, and it is funny but it is lacking the number of laugh out loud moments you get from films such as Superbad and American Pie. Having said that, 21 Jump Street does have its moments – seeing Tatum and Hill’s characters fingering each other’s mouths and tripping on ‘HFS’ - I guarantee it will have anyone laughing.Whilst this hasn’t been my favorite film this year, I do think it’s worth watching, and I definitely plan of watching the sequel, which is being filmed in 2013.I’d recommend this film if you’re looking for a comedy, not an action film. If you want action – you’ll probably be disappointed.If you enjoy this film I recommend: Shaun of the Dead (2004), Superbad (2007), and Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs (2009) – also directed by Phil Lord and Chris Miller.