RIDE ALONG: A Review

Details

Director: Tim Story

Starring: Ice Cube, Kevin Hart, Tika Sumpter

Certificate: 12A

Runtime: 99 mins

Budget: $25,000,000 (estimated)

Review

Everything you need to know about Ride Along can be seen in the trailer. Ice Cube’s the hard-headed serious cop, and Kevin Hart’s his funny sidekick. Throw them into a comedy situation, see how it pans out, and then do it a few more times. Leave all of the character development stuff until the last ten minutes, during which time we’ll also set up a sequel so we can do it all over again. But this time, they’ll both be cops…

However Ride Along doesn't try to be something it’s not. What you see is what you get. And it’s that lack of expectation which leaves you thinking: ‘That was actually quite funny’. Mainly because it lets Kevin Hart be Kevin Hart, which subsequently makes the film half-decent. Hart hasn't had much screen time in recent years, but he has still been stealing scenes - Death at a Funeral, 40 Year Old Virgin, Scary Movie 4 (given, it wasn't the hardest job in the world to be the best thing in Scary Movie 4, but still…). Ride Along gives him reward for all that. Every joke is landed when he’s on screen, and he deflects the audience’s laughter away from how clumsy the action scenes really are.

Director Tim Story and the film’s five writers throw everything his way – from comedy pratfalls to rapid fire delivery, and he hits a home run every time. Should Ride Along 2 actually be given the go-ahead then it should feature 89 minutes of Hart, and just one minute of Ice Cube looking scornful and then saying ‘Damn!’.

But it’s Story giving him nothing to work with that lets him down. Ice Cube is basically playing a frown, which could quite possibly be bigger than Simon Cowell’s frown when he first laid eyes on Jedward. And the film’s big villain arrives so far along the line that he’s nothing more than an afterthought, a plot device to move us into the third act and the generic pay-off.

Verdict

By going in with little expectation looking for some cinematic junk food to fill a quiet evening in with your mates, Ride Along does the trick. Just don’t think it could be the next Bad Boys or Rush Hour…

Please feel free to comment below and let me know what you think of Ride Along!

RED DAWN (2012): A Review

Red Dawn has received a remarkable amount of bad criticism, and my message to you is: “Don’t let it put you off”.

It’s certainly not worth a rating of just 13% from Rotten Tomatoes and a 1-star rating from the Guardian.

Yes, this new remake is cheesy, unrealistic, and at times downright absurd. But what else would you expect from a movie about a group of American teenagers who try and defend their hometown from a North Korean invasion? It literally has ‘cheese’ stamped all over it.

Expecting any less is like watching P.S I Love You in the belief that it’s going to be full of Green Street-like violence.

I’m not saying that Red Dawn is the action movie of the year, not by any means. All I’m saying is don’t dismiss this movie based on all of the negative reviews, make up your own conclusion.

But just in case you do need a bit of guidance, let me share with you my experience of Red Dawn.

I’ll start with the positives, the first being Chris Hemsworth (right). He plays Jed Eckert, an off duty marine who not only leads the group, but teaches them how to fight. I like Hemsworth in nearly every film he’s been in (particularly Thor and The Avengers), and his acting is first class yet again. He plays the hard-hitting marine with real conviction, and is without a doubt the highlight of the movie.

I also like Jeffrey Dean Morgan (Supernatural, The Possession) as Tanner, and Brett Cullen as Jed’s father, Tom Eckert. Both play strong, respectable characters.

However, there are a number of characters that are not necessarily likeable. This is mainly down to the fact that there isn’t much character building within the film except from between the leading few. That said Jed’s naïve and reckless brother Matt Eckert (Josh Peck), isn’t exactly one of my favourites either. Throughout the film his impulsive, inconsiderate behaviour is so frustrating and irritating, which isn’t thrown a lifeline from Peck’s acting. Yes, Peck was lovable and fun as Josh Nichols in Drake and Josh, but I don’t think he has the ability to perform at this level. I also couldn’t help notice him constantly pulling an obscure smirk, which was very unusual during sad situations.

The action scenes are definitely over-the-top and laughable at times, but no more so than Die Hard or The Expendables. There are explosions from start to finish, and teenagers firing guns better than military professionals, but that’s the whole point of it.

I read a review on IMDB saying that Red Dawn was: “A complete waste of time unless you are a male in his early teens”. This film is geared towards young males, but I think anyone who is laidback and after cheap thrills could enjoy this movie. I definitely wouldn't call it a waste of time. I don’t recommend going to see it at the cinema, but it’s fun, action packed and worth turning to if seen on TV.

Additional info:

Although a remake of the 1984 film of the same name, Red Dawn holds striking similarities to an Australian film called Tomorrow, When The War Began which was released in 2010. Both have an almost identical storyline, but TWTWB had a significantly lower budget (an estimated 25m AUD compared to Red Dawns 65m USD) and still received better reviews, with Rotten Tomatoes rating it at 64%.