Rating summary

Movie		2.0
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		3.0
Overall		3.5

Ride Along Blu-ray Movie Review

"You wouldn't last one day out here!"

The buddy cop comedy is dead. Long live the... buddy cop comedy? If Ride Along is meant to rejuvenate the ailing genre, it does a poor job of bringing anything new to the game, much less anything of substance or real comedic value. In place of innovation, director Tim Story relies on painfully pedestrian convention. Instead of adrenaline-fueled action and gut-punch belly laughs, he offers hastily assembled improvisation hemmed in by a misguided PG-13 rating. Rather than provide comedian Kevin Hart and gangsta-rapper-turned-scowling-screen-presence Ice Cube with sharp, bleeding edge material, he tosses the duo familiar scraps; recycled bits and pieces, script notes and re-shoots, repurposed corruption subplots, and half-baked ideas that lack inspiration and ultimately investment. So aggressively shoving Hart and Cube behind the wheel doesn't help the pair stand out from the genre pack either, and the manufactured barbs, racial jabs and ham-fisted one-liners that litter the streets of Atlanta leave a lot to be desired. (How many punchlines can possibly hinge on skin color and stereotypes? You have no idea.)

Ride Along will no doubt find a sizeable audience on Blu-ray, much as it did in theaters this past January (to the tune of $150 million and a sequel already on the books). And oh how it'll crack up the more forgiving among you, leaving its newfound fans complaining everyone else "just didn't get it." But that's comedy for you. Buddy cop comedy especially. Ride Along might leave you in tears... or staring at your watch, waiting for the moment the film will, at long last, grind to a rusty, rickety stop. I grinned every now and then, sure. Hart's mouth is fast enough to hit a few targets. But a $25 million budget and a slick cast should buy more than scattershot success. Story's franchise startup isn't memorable, just terribly mediocre.

Ride Along Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The Blu-ray release of Ride Along features a crisp, striking 1080p/AVC-encoded video transfer that makes it a bit easier to forget how unflattering the film's buddy cop formula really is. Armed with Red Epic digital cameras, director Tim Story and cinematographer Larry Blanford take advantage of a string of practical Atlanta locations to compile their competently shot action comedy, and the high definition presentation doesn't deviate from their intentions. Colors are natural and lifelike on the whole, with carefully saturated skintones, satisfying black levels and excellent delineation. Detail delivers too, with little in the way of softness, noise or crush. Edges are exceedingly clean and refined, while fine textures are beautifully resolved and quite revealing. Moreover, artifacting, banding, aliasing and ringing are nowhere to be found, making Ride Along stand out amongst its genre brethren even as the film struggles to leave its mark.

Ride Along Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Universal's DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround track follows suit, despite the fact that Story's Atlanta shoot sounds less convincing than it looks. Chalk it up to action-movie enthusiasm or just plain ol' overindulgence, but action beats and beatdowns come on a tad strong, particularly when suddenly transitioning from a Kevin Hart rant to a more explosive fireworks display. That being said, all is as it was meant to be, with intelligible, perfectly prioritized dialogue, tenacious LFE support and a surprisingly rich and rewarding Atlanta soundfield. Directionality doesn't disappoint, pans are smooth and while many a heated exchange between Hart and Cube borders on flat and front-heavy, the bulk of the film boasts notable ambience and real-world presence. The film's soundtrack takes it up another notch as well, helping Ride Along embrace its full-fledged action comedy ambitions.

Ride Along Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Audio Commentary: Tim Story delivers a lively, almost excitable solo commentary that opens with the director declaring his love for the studio logo, then his love for the actors, then his love for the crew, back to his love of the cast, then to his love of... okay, so Story sings the praises of everyone and everything that graces the screen. He's a passionate guy, and one who clearly enjoyed every minute involved in making the movie. It's hard to fault such harmless enthusiasm. His overview of the production is quite thorough thankfully, with a number of entertaining anecdotes that help keep things moving along nicely.
• It Was a Good Day: On the Set of Ride Along (HD, 12 minutes): Go behind the scenes with the cast and crew in this EPK-style featurette, complete with talking head interviews, on-set laughs and improv, rapidfire alternate takes, and endless jokes and crack-ups.
• Kev & Cube's Wild Ride (HD, 5 minutes): Kevin Hart and Ice Cube slide into the EPK spotlight in this secondary featurette, wherein the actors and their co-stars gush about the leading duo while discussing the pair's individual careers, performance styles and work ethic.
• You Gonna Learn Today (HD, 5 minutes): "Oh, that's what we're doin' now? We're racial profiling!?" Go off script with Hart and his improvisational skills as he leaves the cast and crew in stitches.
• Atlanta: The Character (HD, 3 minutes): A quick look at the decision, benefits, challenges and fan interactions involved in shooting in Atlanta using practical locations throughout the city and its outlying areas.
• Anatomy of the Big Blast (HD, 5 minutes): One of the film's key action beats, dissected.
• An Explosive Ride (HD, 5 minutes): Stunts, gunfights and action choreography.
• Deleted Scenes (HD, 8 minutes): Six scenes in all: "James Meets Marko," "Ben Dresses for Work," "Ben Proposes to Angela," "Drive to Hospital," "Driving to Angela's" and "Omar Escapes."
• Alternate Take (HD, 2 minutes): Hart and Cube improv, but have trouble with the film's PG-13 rating.
• Alternate Ending (HD, 2 minutes): A minor change makes for a minor alternate ending.
• Gag Reel (HD, 3 minutes): A few decent laughs in an otherwise forgettable outtake reel.

Ride Along Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Kevin Smith's Cop Out doesn't have much going for it outside of Bruce Willis and Tracy Morgan (some of you will even debate that), but it at least aims high enough, fires wide enough and hits enough of its targets to make up for some of the mediocrity. Tim Story's improv-driven Ride Along, though, settles for familiar material lifted from bigger, badder, funnier buddy cop comedies. It's derivative, not daring. Dull and predictable when it should be anything but. Tiresome and exhausting when it could be an absolute blast. More than anything, it lacks cast chemistry and filmmaking instincts. It begs, borrows and steals almost everything it is, and what it can't steal, it asks Hart -- eager but overburdened -- to bring to the table. If this is the new face of buddy cop comedy, perhaps the genre is better off taking a longer hiatus. Fortunately, Universal's Blu-ray release isn't so disappointing thanks to a terrific AV presentation and decent selection of special features. Will Ride Along 2 excel where Ride Along falters? Chances are slim with Story back behind the wheel, but who knows? Maybe two years and a bigger budget will make all the difference. Because if Hollywood has taught us anything, it's that throwing more time and money at a comedy makes it better. Right? Right?