Ride Along 2 (2016)

Ride Along 2 improves upon the formula of the first Ride Along in some ways, but also falls short of the first one in others. For one, I think the jokes in this one are funnier and less drawn out. They’ve toned down the “gamer” stereotype jokes for this movie, which I think is quite great. I like Ben’s character better in the sequel. Although Ben Barber is still meek and hesitant, he has clearly learned some things from his first outing. James Payton is still the badass detective who does not mind going beyond protocol to exact the law on organized criminals. AJ is also a nice addition to the movie, because I like Ken Jeong. I have mixed feelings on Detective Cruz. For one, I appreciate that they made her a female version of James Payton. That being said, her whole character seems to have been written to be James’ plus-one to the wedding. This movie also seems to pander to horny teenagers a lot of the time, with a ton of runtime dedicated to showing scantily clad women. The villain is a forgettable corrupt businessman with no real sense of charisma or style, just a conventionally handsome guy who has a lot of money to throw around. Still, I enjoyed it.