As much as I
enjoy the mindless escapism of a good buddy cop film, Ride Along lacks the required laughs and action needed for success.
Too much of the film seems to be cliché script-by-numbers, so that even when it
is inoffensive entertainment, Ride Along
is never a memorable trip. The best it has to offer is distraction during the
100-minute running time, offering nothing to contemplate or reminisce over once
the credits have rolled.
The biggest
disappointment with a film like this is simply wasted opportunities, the
knowledge that there are laughs never garnered and thrills pissed away by lazy
filmmaking meant to acquire quick and easy ticket sales without concern for
audience enjoyment. What could have been an original plot premise quickly
becomes a comedic version of Training Day,
minus any of the edge. Even stars Kevin Hart and Ice Cube essentially just play
caricatures of their own onscreen persona, never breaking out of the mold of
predictable actions.
Hart heads up
the sentimental side of the cast, as well as the supposed laughs that rarely
land, starring as high school security guard, Ben. Ben longs to be a police
officer, so it is quite convenient that his steady girlfriend’s brother happens
to be a highly decorated detective working a complex case of corruption and
trafficking. In order to scare Ben away from the uniform and his sister, James
(Cube) agrees to take the loud-mouthed security guard on a ride-along designed
to discourage. Ben inevitably becomes an unexpected asset to the case James is
working on, and they team up to take down a criminal conspiracy.
The emphasis
remains on the comedy over the action in Ride Along, and that is clear by the
special features also included on the Blu-ray. The extras include a gag reel
and two featurettes also found on the DVD about the characters and
behind-the-scenes footage from the set. There is also a commentary track with
director Tim Story, and an assortment of additional featurettes and deleted
footage that is exclusive to the Blu-ray release. Along with a variety of
deleted and alternate footage, there are four featurettes with the forgettable
action elements in the film.
Entertainment Value:
7/10
Quality of
Filmmaking: 6/10
Historical
Significance: 4.5/10
Special Features: 7/10
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