Ride Along (2014) Capsule Film Review

Rating: 3 Stars Out Of 4, Thumbs Up

Rated PG-13 For Sequences Of Violence, Sexual Content And Brief Strong Language.

1hr 39/99min.

1 use of the F-word.

Ben: "You're White! You're White! You Don't Fight!

Ride Along isn't going to win any awards anytime soon. It won't be the new classic comedy everyone wants it to be(based on Box Office returns) and it won't even be listed in a list of anybody's favorite comedies. But, it is a fun little diversion, with one simple goal in mind: to entertain. I liked Ride Along, I didn't love it. The film is filled with flaws that one can't just simply overlook. Although, it is nice to see a comedy that's rated PG-13 and not have sex jokes as it's only means of humor.

Ben Barber(Kevin Hart) wants to propose to his girlfriend(Tika Sumpter) but needs the blessing of her stubborn police officer brother James(Ice Cube). James doesn't think that Ben is qualified to marry his sister. Ben also wants to be a cop, so James takes him on a Ride Along as training exercise. The day soon grows intense as they come under attack by a man named Omar, a man James has been looking for for a couple of years now.

There really isn't too much to say about Ride Along. The movie moves at a cutthroat pace, with many jokes flying at the screen. Most of them hits, but some of them not. The performances are nice, the chemistry between Ice Cube and Kevin Hart is well done and the reveal of the villain is a fun one, however, not too surprising, due to the actor being given away in the credits. If you like Buddy cop films, then Ride Along does the job right, but if I want buddy cop films, I'll stick with the Lethal Weapon films, thank you very much.