Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 86% (Critics) / 92% (Audience)
Directed By: Phil Lord and Chris Miller
Written By: Michael Bacall and Jonah Hill
Starring: Jonah Hill, Channing Tatum, Ice Cube and Dave Franco
Studio: Magnolia Pictures

Synopsis: A pair of underachieving cops are sent back to a local high school to blend in and bring down a synthetic drug ring. (Source)

The Good:
The chemistry between Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum was the best part of this film. I was also pleasantly surprised by how well Channing Tatum was in a role that called for him to be not only funny but goofily so. His Jenko was such an amiable bozo and he pulled it off very well. Hill did his usual type of performance which sat well with me because I dig the schtick that has become his stock-in-trade.
Ice Cube was hilarious as the prototypical angry, black police captain/sergeant role that has been done to death in these buddy cop movies and he had some really funny lines.
The cameos by veterans of the original 21 JUMP STREET TV show were greatly appreciated since I was a regular watcher back in the day.
The spoofing of Walter from BREAKING BAD was well done.

The Bad:
The romance between Hill’s character and Brie Larson’s character was not very interesting to watch and I think the movie would have survived without it. I could have preferred seeing more of Ellie Kemper’s chemistry teacher and her attraction to Tatum’s Jenko be explored instead.
I also was bummed that there were no cameos for Stephen Williams or Dustin Nguyen. Fuller and Ioki needed to be represented, man!

The Ugly:
That was a helluva way for the McQuaid Brothers to go out.

Final Verdict: The dictionary definition of a popcorn movie. 21 JUMP STREET was funny while including enough action without jarring the audience and that is the way that a buddy cop movie is supposed to operate. Worth the price of admission as long as you check your brain at the theater entrance. B