not as bad as I thought it would be

Rating: 6/10 (29 July 2012)

Since I have no attachments to 21 Jump Street the TV series and I strongly dislike Jonah Hill, I avoided this for a while. Picked it up today as a lark, and because I didn't see anything else in the video store particularly interesting as far as action movies go. Hell, let's watch some things explode, shall we?
What I figured out after a few minutes was that whoever made this thing knew that lots of people would be thinking pretty much that. It's been a while since I've seen movie-making done with such glee at screwing with the audience. It was the best facet of the film, but I admit that I just like self-referential humor when done well, and here, that's what happened.
That said, I couldn't get into the relationship between Hill and Tatum, and I still don't like Jonah Hill. However, I do like Channing Tatum more now, since he had the good taste to allow himself to be a complete boob when necessary here. With a little work, he might yet prove himself to be more than a lighter-haired clone of Josh Hartnett, with all the rom-com crap that implies.
Huge parts of the story were absurd, so if that can't wash for you, then don't watch this movie. Taking this seriously should make one eligible for psychiatric care. Otherwise, it's good for some laughs and the occasional clever twist on your expectations.