Director: Tim Story
Writer: Greg Coolidge, Jason Mantzoukas, Phil Hay, Matt Manfredi (Screenplay) Greg Coolidge (Story)
Starring: Ice Cube, Kevin Hart, John Leguizamo, Bruce McGill, Tika Sumpter, Bryan Callen, Laurence Fishburne, Dragos Bucur
Plot: Security guard Ben must prove himself to his girlfriend’s brother, top cop James. He rides along James on a 24-hour patrol of Atlanta.
There may be spoilers the rest of the review
Verdict: Odd Couple Blah Comedy
Story: Ride Along starts by showing James Payton (Cube) on an undercover job trying to get information on Omar (Fishburne) but the job goes wrong he only busts one of his men. Next we meet Ben (Hart) a security guard who is dating Angela (Sumpter) sister of James. James’ case against Omar is falling apart because of his wild car chase. Ben finally gets a chance to join the Police academy giving him the chance to ask for the blessing to marry Angela. James offers to take Ben on a ride along so that Ben can prove himself.
James and Ben set off on their day together with tension already between them, with James disliking Ben and Ben wanting to prove himself. James takes the idea to turn the day into a training day to try and chase ben away from his sister, but sales it on putting a good word in at the academy. The odd couple comedy starts simple but soon ends up putting the two unlikely men’s life in danger as they try to uncover the truth about Omar.
Ride Along is one of those odd couple comedies that tries to go in a slightly different direction. We have seen new partners along with father and son ideas but goes with brother and potential brother in law. It plays to the simple comedy levels and the story tries not to turn into a spoof. It might use previously used ideas and made them comical but it does keep a serious side to the story. It lacks supporting characters so when it comes to the twist you can see it coming from the start. This story struggles to grab the full attention because certain comedy scenes go on too long. (6/10)
Actor Review
Ice Cube: James Payton tough cop who always breaks the rules and always wants to protect his sister from what he thinks is slacker who is not good enough for her. He takes Ben on a ride along to try and scare him off. Ice does a good job and you simply wouldn’t mess with him. (7/10)
Kevin Hart: Ben Barber security guard who wants to become a real cop and going on the ride along gives him a chance to experience the cop world along with trying to get to know James and get his permission to marry his sister. Kevin does a good job getting to show off his comic skills. (7/10)
Support Cast: Ride Along doesn’t have a big supporting cast with most becoming very generic characters for the genre.
Director Review: Tim Story – Tim does a solid job creating this odd couple comedy but it does lack a few original laughs. (6/10)
Action: Ride Along doesn’t use the action as much as it should with only a couple of scenes that are all very generic. (5/10)
Comedy: Ride Along has odd couple comedy that has a few laugh out loud moments but mostly falls into chuckles. (7/10)
Settings: Ride Along uses generic cop settings to help the story unfold. (6/10)
Suggestion: Ride Along is one to try, if you are big on comedies this could appeal to you but otherwise people might struggle to enjoy this one. (Try It)
Best Part: Gun range
Worst Part: Hart’s comedy gets old quick with every scene being the same.
Funniest Scene: Gun range
Believability: No (0/10)
Chances of Tears: No (0/10)
Chances of Sequel: Has one planned
Post Credits Scene: Has one early on.
Oscar Chances: No
Box Office: $154 Million
Budget: $25 Million
Runtime: 1 Hour 39 Minutes
Tagline: Propose to this cop’s sister? Rookie mistake.
Trivia: Originally the movie intended for Dwayne Johnson to play James and Ryan Reynolds to play Ben.
Overall: Standard Odd Couple Comedy
Rating 
