"Ride Along" looks to build upon the rising success of Kevin Hart, as he plays a video game obsessed school security guard who has dreams of joining the Atlanta PD, and marrying his beautiful girlfriend. Uh oh! Trouble! His girlfriend will only agree to marry him if he can gain the approval of her overprotective hard cop brother (Ice Cube). Cliche after cliche. But wait! Kevin Hart gets accepted to the police academy! This should gain the respect of Ice Cube right? Wrong. The movie still had an hour and 15 minutes left. Now at a crossroads, the only logical thing to do now is for them to go on a ride along. Now the movie did get a little better once everything got settled, but the main device this movie used to try and get laughs was making Kevin Hart look like an idiot. Come on Kevin. You're better than that. You can be funny without acting like a moron, and constantly letting everyone know that you are of below average height. And as long as Ice Cube keeps making these foolish little comedies; than I am not gonna like any role where he is playing the so called "tough guy".
Long gone are the days where people are scared to speak negatively about the man known as "Ice Cube". Back in the days of NWA, Ice Cube was known as being one of the baddest men around, often rapping about his gang life in Compton or his less than friendly relationship with the police. Now he has been relegated to making movies like "Ride Along" and "Are we there yet".
Ice Cube and Kevin Hart have some talent. Ice Cube's music is classic, and Hart's standup is actually pretty funny; but neither of them are leading man quality. I have liked them in smaller roles like Hart in "Grudge Match" and especially Ice Cube in "21 Jump Street". When the pressure of being funny is not entirely on their shoulders, they are much funnier. Maybe I am being too critical, as I think if I saw this movie three or four years ago; I would have liked it quite a bit. But now that I look at movies in a different light, I can see what a poor film this is. Its actually pretty awkward being in a packed theater and the whole audience is laughing their heads off, and Im just sitting there like "did I miss something?". Overall this movie serves as a glaring signal that Ice Cube and Kevin Hart cannot hold a leading role without subjecting themselves to personal embarrassment. I cannot argue with the success as it did gross over 40 million dollars on its opening weekend, but critics everywhere seem to agree with me as Ride Along currently boasts a 15% on Rotten Tomatoes. And in case you didn't know....a 15% is god awful. Perhaps this movie was not made for people like me, but for other movie goers who don't go into a film with such a critical mindset. And there is nothing wrong with that. If you saw this movie and liked it, then I am glad; because it only further proves how their is no definitive way to tell if a movie is good or bad. It is all based on opinions.
Thanks for reading my review today! Let me know what you thought of this film, and if you agree or disagree with my opinions. If there are any movies you would like me to review please just ask as I would be happy to. Later this week I will be posting movie reviews for my top 5 favorite movies of all time! Im very excited to begin this, and I hope that you will tune in. Anyways, until next time, be safe and have a splendid rest of your day.
- Big D
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