22 Jump Street (2014)

3/5

The sequel to the TV show reboot that took the world by storm is more of a mixed bag than the slam-dunk repeat formula success story that I'm sure its producers wanted. The writing, which combines raunchy humor with bromance and heart, is adequately funny but never feels emotionally honest. The jokes feel recycled, as does the overall plot progression. The novelty of 21 Jump Street is entirely lost. It's a great piece of entertainment, but it's also an empty, forgettable one.

IMDb link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2294449/

The Lego Movie (2014)

3/5

The Lego Movie is a two-hour long advertisement that you have to pay to see. Yes, it has a story and characters, but so do thirty-second TV bits. And that doesn't change the fact that it is an advertisement for a brand, even if it is a brand that many people have fond childhood memories of. I typically don't mind product placement (e.g., I, Robot) or obvious sponsorship (e.g., The Hire: Powder Keg) as long as the movie can stand on its own merits. This movie cannot. If our analytic functions weren't so warped by our communal nostalgia of the lovable building bricks, it would be obvious to everybody just how middle-of-the-road this movie is.

The movie is frustrating because its creators seem confused as to what they are trying to say. Every theme seems half-baked, every new message inconsistent with the last one. The Lego Movie is a conceptual mess. The only thing I am certain of is that this movie thinks Legos are awesome and that you should go buy some right now!

The movie starts by satirizing the idea that following rules is good, by mocking the idea that teamwork is beneficial. (Side note: is it even really that bad to abide by laws? to work as a team?) It uses the incredibly catchy song Everything Is AWESOME!!! as a representation of the fascist, domineering society where we lose our individuality, but then uses that very same song to cheer up one of the characters later on. So are we supposed to like it or are we supposed to reject it? Because it's currently one of the most popular songs on iTunes.

And I'm a little confused by the ending. I don't want to spoil things for those who haven't seen it, so I urge people who don't want this mediocre movie spoiled to stop reading now. After this sentence there be spoilers. So is Emmett real or is he in the boy's imagination? If it's all made up, then how did Emmett move around on the table and attract the boy's attention? If it's all real, then it seems as if the boy just took credit for building literally hundreds of new designs that the Lego people actually built! Seems a little fishy to me. See what I mean when I say that the movie feels underdeveloped and poorly-thought out?

IMDb link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1490017/

21 Jump Street (2012)

4/5

I didn't know this going in, but 21 Jump Street is a comic adaptation of an 80's police procedural TV show about cops who go undercover into high schools and colleges because of their youthful appearances. In this 2012 version, best friends Jenko (Tatum) and Schmidt (Hill) are sent into the undercover unit at 21 Jump Street, aka the Aroma of Christ Korean church, with the mission of infiltrating a drug ring that has popped up at a local high school. Jenko is excited to relive his glory days, but soon discovers that the status symbols and hierarchy that put him on top have completely reversed compared to 7 years prior. Now the environmentally-friendly vegans (Franco, Larson) are the cool kids, and Schmidt realizes he may finally get a second chance at high school popularity.

To put it simply, the movie is awesome. It is one of the funniest I've seen recently, on par with the best of Judd Apatow (and in the same raunchy, irreverent style). It pokes fun of endless remakes, of the action comedy genre, and especially of itself. It spends no time on character development and no time on plot progression. Instead it spends 100% of the time on comedy, and it more than pays off in the jokes department. However, it doesn't try to make a point, and therefore it doesn't have the same potential as the best comedies in terms of staying power. But this movie is spectacularly funny, and I cannot recommend it enough.

IMDb link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1232829/