Self-awareness only takes this sequel so far

Rating: 7/10 (15 October 2018)

Very early on in "22 Jump Street", the guys are basically told to do the same thing as the last time since that's their best chance for success. While it's nice to see the screenwriters basically admitting that they're following the template of the first movie, it still leaves us with a sequel that's more or less trying to recreate the success of its predecessor. On one hand, using the same framework opens the door to variations but, at the same time, it's hard to avoid a sense of 'been there, done that'. Then again, the entire premise of the series is inherently limited, so there's only so much that you can do with it.
After going undercover at a high school in the first movie, the duo take the next logical step and go undercover at a college. Once again trying to infiltrate a drug ring, the story obviously feels similar to the first movie. Where the differences lie is mainly in the interactions between Jenko & Schmidt. This time around, Jenko is the one who fits in better, which ultimately creates friction between the two. In the end, I'm not sure that the story is different enough from the first movie but it should please fans looking for more of the same. Probably the only area where the movie improved upon its predecessor was in the action department.
As for the cast, Channing Tatum & Jonah Hill are of course back again and they're just as good together as they were the first time around. Ice Cube & Nick Offerman make welcome return appearances as well. Joining them is the always reliable Peter Stormare as the requisite bad guy along with Jillian Bell, Amber Stevens West & Wyatt Russell. Not a bad group but probably not quite up to the standard of the first movie. There is, however, a nice surprise appearance by Queen Latifah.
In terms of production values, the movie can't be faulted. With the original directors returning, the quality didn't dip as is often the case with sequels. In fact, a larger budget enabled them to add more spectacle to the mix and they were able to accomplish this without overshadowing the movie's comedic core.
Even though I enjoyed the movie I was nevertheless left with a feeling that it wasn't entirely necessary. I appreciate the self-aware approach to producing a sequel but, in the end, the result was still fairly formulaic and predictable in spite of that. While the excellent end credits sequence just about single-handedly justified the existence of the movie, I'm not sure what it says about a movie when the end credits is the best part.