one of the pleasant surprises of 2012 for a few reasons

Rating: 8/10 (30 November 2015)

A property like 21 Jump Street was something I didn't have many expectations for: I didn't watch the show (despite young Johnny Depp as the star), and the prospect of another buddy-cop comedy is not something that is an instant hit. You need fresh ideas and a good sense of humor about what you're working with. And yet there were a number of people who came in and made it a real surprise. Watching just the trailer you get a sense of the comic timing and approach of total who gives a s*** irreverence from Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum (and Ice Cube as well as the guy heading up their plot), and that this is fully self-aware. Part of this comes from the actors, but it also comes from the directors Lord and Miller (Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs was where they showed everyone they could do it, while The LEGO movie two years later cemented their reputations as the new great comedy directing team).
A lot of the jokes and lines and throw-away moments that just carry a lot of solid laughs come from the filmmakers trusting their actors to pull off some dumb jokes in smart ways, and visa-versa. I include Channing Tatum in this, and he surprised me the most in that before this movie I didn't think he was much of an actor (mostly from his dramas, where he just seemed weak or trying too hard). But in one year, between this movie and Magic Mike, he showed that he has real charm and screen presence, and knows how to find the way to play things both straight and funny when a dialog exchange is required. Of course here he's the more tough presence set against Jonah Hill, and yet there's plenty of jokes put at his expense that he plays like a... pro!
There's some set pieces that revel in the action, and it comes close to running out of steam in the last third (until it reveals a couple of big cameos that shouldn't be big surprises, but they're still actors that suddenly give a shot of adrenaline to the comedy and action in the climax). For long stretches though 21 Jump Street leaps so high above what this could have been as a generic remake of a popular TV show; it's like actual clever ideas and gags on display, and a lot of it comes down to behavior as well, whether it's the main two actors or with Ice Cube, or Brie Larson as one of the supporting women set at the high school, (or Dave Franco of course), and there's plenty of times where it comes down to the actors saying one thing or another and finding just the right moment to make something funny.
Not every single joke clicks, but so many do that 21 Jump Street makes the cop (undercover) comedy conceit fresh and fun. You see these guys just having pure fun with finding how to dig into what makes these clichés tic, and not simply with buddy/cop movies but just how buddies relate in a movie. It's got heart underneath when it takes a breath between things like stabbing Hill in the back at a party (no, don't worry, it's in the trailer, and it's as awesome as it seems).