Rating summary

Movie		2.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		3.5
Overall		3.5

Ride Along 2 Blu-ray Movie Review

We've seen this before: the sequel.

Reviewed by Martin Liebman April 20, 2016

Ride Along 2 is a completely derivative film. In every sense of the term. It's one of the least original films in the Bad Boys/Rush Hour Buddy Cop Comedy subgenres. It's happy to regurgitate ideas, settle for a stale plot, and play follow the leader for the duration. It's also a sequel. The first film toyed with novelty and creativity, but the followup, by the very nature of its character directions and narrative advancements, is even more of a wasteland of transparent action and recycled concepts. But it's still rather fun for what it is. The cast is enthusiastic, the filmmaking is slick, and even as the movie never even comes close to carving out its own path, it has fun bringing up the rear and spinning cliché like only Ice Cube and Kevin Hart can, two beacons of light in an otherwise invisible movie.

Cops. Buddies?

Detective James Payton (Ice Cube) and his partner Mayfield (Tyrese Gibson) are working a street race, undercover. But when rookie cop Ben Barber (Kevin Hart) turns up on the scene, their cover is blown and Mayfield is wounded in the chaos. Ben's career appears to be coming to a close; he's too reckless for the job. But the busted operation does yield one bit of evidence: an encrypted thumb drive that the police cannot access but that does bear a record of the man who encrypted it, a Miami-based hacker named A.J. (Ken Jeong) who is unwittingly in league with a dangerous drug kingpin named Antonio Pope (Benjamin Bratt). Payton is set to work the case. He's not about to let Barber ride along, but when his sister -- and Barber's fiancé -- ask that he come along so she can more efficiently plan the wedding, Payton reluctantly agrees. As they work the hot Miami streets, they join forces with A.J. and a Miami detective named Maya Cruz (Olivia Munn) on their most dangerous case yet.

That's the gist of the plot, and it's exactly as it sounds: a recycled, rehashed, reworked, rewhatevered story cobbled together from core genre tropes and showcasing precious little, if any at all, creativity. Character interactions between Cube and Hart are fine -- great, even -- but even performers of their ability can't squeeze much from a tired plot and retread story angles. They share enough charisma to keep the movie going -- Cube is Cube, perfecting his trademark ability to play it hard around the edge but soft inside, and Hart is Hart, a bundle of comic energy whose verbal timing and physical prowess can't be beat -- and with a better script they might very well approach the level of a Gibson/Glover or Lawrence/Smith, but in Ride Along 2 they're victims of lackluster writing that's just a shell in which various jokes and action scenes take place. The villain -- even as he's portrayed by the always-reliable Benjamin Bratt -- is also as generic as they come, bringing absolutely nothing to the experience beyond a stand-in antagonist for the heroes and a reason to put shootouts and car chases in the film. The movie is shockingly devoid of substance, but as a straightforward entertainer -- assuming audiences can look beyond the dearth of novelty -- it works just well enough to kill a couple of hours.

With practically no substance in its arsenal, Ride Along 2 necessarily has to get by on style alone, and it's at least quite the capable entertainer in that regard. If the audience can dismiss all of the movie's faults -- chiefly the absence of identity -- there's a fun time to be had here, a mindless fun time to be sure but one that Director Tim Story populates with nonstop slick and smooth moviemaking that plays with plenty of polish. The movie's slick veneer is unmissable. From the sleek titles forward, Ride Along 2 never wants for flash, whether that's in its quick pacing, smooth direction, or the actors' own abilities to play along. But even in all of that pizzazz, the movie's identity crisis looms large. For as well as it's put together, it never can take full advantage. This is practicality the definition of "lipstick on a pig." In a vacuum it's fine and up close it's even fun, but pull away and, well, the bigger picture tells the real story. That's a shame given the talent on the screen, but unsurprising in the grand scheme of things.

Ride Along 2 Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Ride Along 2 pulls onto Blu-ray with a rich and healthy 1080p transfer, one that's just about top of the line for a new, digitally photographed movie. Both detail and color are superb. The digital source photography yields a very clean image, one that's a little smooth but never wanting for a more robust level of tactile detail. Basics such as skin textures -- pores, stubble, freckles -- are intimately revealing. The duo's lightweight shirts that they wear in Miami showcase extremely fine fabric details with ease. Wider overhead cityscapes and various street-level environmental details soar thanks to terrific sharpness and the 1080p transfer's ability to finely resolve the tiniest details with ease. Colors are robust and healthy. Clothing is cheerful, and every Miami exterior, particularly by day, reveals plenty of variation that's presented with effortless boldness. Black levels generally hold up well, with nighttime exteriors sparkling, save for a few errant shots where excess brightness creeps in and light noise hovers. Skin tones are full and healthy. On the whole, this is a terrific presentation from Universal.

Ride Along 2 Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Ride Along 2's DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtrack delivers on all fronts. Music is richly defined, yielding superb definition, wide front spacing, healthy surround detailing, and tremendous low end support. Action scenes, and the final shootout in particular, present with chaotic detail and pinpoint sound placement. Gunshots ring out from all over with plenty of oomph and zip. Shots impact surfaces all around. Explosions pack plenty of punch and play out with width to spare around the stage. Support details are plentiful and perfectly integrated. A car horn comically blares off to the side in one early shot. Shipping containers maneuver with tangible sonic weight and creaks and moans. Miami and Atlanta streets spring to life with full, detailed din. Lighter insect ambience fills the stage in quieter rural scenes. Dialogue is clear and lifelike, presenting in the center with prefect positioning and prioritization. Fans should find no serious issues with Universal's track.

Ride Along 2 Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Ride Along 2 contains a lengthy assortment of extra content, including a commentary, deleted scenes, and plenty of featurettes. A DVD copy of the film and a voucher for a UV/iTunes digital copy are included with purchase.

• Deleted Scenes (1080p): Ben Tries to Sneak By Angela (2:10), My Neck Donut (1:08), Enter the Club (1:07), The Impound Lot (0:44), Your Drunk Husband (0:38), and Extended Bar Scene (2:59).
• Ride Along With Us (1080p, 1:48): Payton and Barber pitch the benefits of working for the Atlanta P.D.
• Gag Reel (1080p, 3:47).
• Behind the Scenes of Ride Along With Us (1080p, 1:24): Fun green screen outtakes from the feature above.
• The Ride Along Round Table (1080p, 15:52): Ice Cube, Kevin Hart, Producer Will Packer, and Director Tom Story discuss various aspects of the Ride Along experience, including cast and performances, off-camera work, cast and crew camaraderie and collective work, and more.
• The Ride Diaries (1080p): A seven-part feature that explores key moments from the making of the film.
  
  
  • The First Days (3:20): Beginning the filmmaking process in Miami.
  • The Tribute (2:05): Hart dives right in to make a key shot.
  • The Bachelor Party (2:09): A look inside shooting a scene at the Georgia State Capital.
  • The Opening Sting (2:46): A quick glimpse at the making of the The Fast and the Furious-like open, which was actually filmed on production day 33, and the special guest who appears in the scene.
  • The Alligator Scene (2:42): The practical and digital ins-and-outs of one of the movie's funnier scenes.
  • The Wedding Day (2:41): Quick-fire interview snippets and behind-the-scenes footage from one of the big moments near film's end.
  • The Final Showdown (4:53): The longest piece in the bunch looks at making the movie's explosive action finale.
• Kevin & Cube: Brothers-in-Law (1080p, 6:52): Cast and crew discuss the Cube-Hart magic and how their camaraderie plays central to the franchise's success.
• The New Recruits (1080p, 6:21): A quick look at the new characters who appear in the movie, played by Ken Jeong, Olivia Munn, and Benjamin Bratt.
• Inside Black Hammer Vision (1080p, 3:24): Making the movie's video game-styled sequence.
• Ride Along with Kevin Hart (1080p, 5:26): A look at many of Kevin Hart's antics on the set.
• Cori's Wedding Commercial (1080p, 1:36): The wedding planner pitches her skills in a dream-like commercial.
• Audio Commentary: Director Tim Story delivers a nuts-and-bolts commentary that looks into the movie's core details, shooting locales, technical insights, cast and performances, and more. The other supplements do a great job of piecing together the behind-the-scenes details, but this is a fine all-in-one extra that fans should enjoy.

Ride Along 2 Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Ride Along 2 plays well enough if one is craving a completely mindless movie watching experience, someone wanting zero challenge and a film that falls firmly into a well established comfort zone. Cube and Hart are great at what they do but can't polish the proverbial turd, and neither can all of the movie's slick support elements. It's not that the movie is in any way bad. It's just...unnecessary...and unoriginal. The Blu-ray presentation is at least first class. Plenty of extras come in support of near reference video and audio. Fans should feel no hesitation to buy.