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22 Jump Street

7/10

Stars: Jonah Hill, Channing Tatum, Amber Stevens, Peter Stormare, Ice Cube, Wyatt Russell, Nick Offerman. Guest appearances by Seth Rogen, Queen Latifah and others

Director: Phil Lord, Christopher Miller

This brightly-coloured, self-consciously loopy sequel to 21 Jump Street is quite a lot of fun (it even cocks a snoot at the idea of sequels themselves), but could be a lot more so if you could actually hear half the dialogue. One's almost tempted to suggest it might be worth while getting the stars back to loop over some of the more indistinct exchanges.

But no matter. Personalities are established from the first film; so, when Tatum and Hill go back to college (as opposed to high school) to track down the supplier of a new drug (something mixed with Ecstasy), it's the muscular Tatum who joins the football team to become joint kingpin with the guy he suspects (Russell), while Hill does more nerdy things, but does get to bed one of his fellow-students (Stevens), who turns out to be the daughter of...but let's not spoil one of the film's many surprises.

The fun comes fast and furious and, if it's impossible at times to fathom what's going on (not even to mention what's being said), it's just best to go with the flow and enjoy the ride. Ice Cube returns as the pair's (very) long-suffering boss, while Latifah makes one of several unbilled guest appearances as his wife.

Do stay for the credits, which are among the funniest things in this zany, frenetic romp, and detail Jump Street sequels all the way to number 40 (they go to a retirement home). You never know - it just might happen.

David Quinlan

USA 2014. UK Distributor: Sony (Columbia). Colour by FotoKem.
112 minutes. Widescreen. UK certificate: 15.

Guidance ratings (out of 3): Sex/nudity 0, Violence/Horror 0, Drugs 1, Swearing 2.

Review date: 03 Jun 2014