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Movie Review: RIde Along

Ride Along
??1/2

There is definitely a need for speed in “Ride Along”. The movies drags its way through theaters for almost 99 minutes with a few shining moments.

The film is the story of Ben Barber (Kevin Hart), a police academy recruit trying to marry his dream girl. The only thing standing in his way is the permission of her brother, policeman James Payton (Ice Cube).

To achieve this, Barber has to survive one day on a ride along with Payton fighting crime and doing whatever is asked of him, which includes stopping petty crimes that no cop wants to actually spend their time on.

There is a decent chemistry between Ice Cube and Hart. Though it does not make up for their lack of everything else.

Hart does well in sticking to his stereotypical comedic role as a character that lacks a strong back bone and makes up for it through sarcasm and appealing to the audience’s desire for a cheap laugh.
Ice Cube does his best to be a hard-hearted cop that ignores the technicalities of the law he fights for. “Ride Along” encourages audiences to act like an idiot thinking the outcome will be joyous. It fails to point out the pontential injuries and problens that come with it.

However, at points, it’s blatant that he has trouble still with becoming an actor. “Ride Along” does hold a good supporting cast including John Leguizamo, Bruce McGilland Laurence Fishburne as Omar, the biggest mob boss in the city.

The movie is good for a few cheap laughs and even some touching moments. It is worth watching when it comes on T.V., but not enough to specifically set time aside to watch it. “Ride Along” should be put in the vault with the plethora of other unoriginal cop movies.

Jeremy Wile

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