22 Jump Street

The 2012 reboot of the non-beloved 1980s cop series (people only remember because Johnny Depp was on it) was one of the year’s biggest and best surprises, the laziest of ideas well-cast, well-written and well-executed. They actually tried. In addition to establishing Clone High’s evil geniuses Phil Lord and Christopher Miller as comic powerhouses (you might know them now for The Lego Movie), it shined a whole new light on lunkheaded backup dancer/action also-ran Channing Tatum, who has basically been unstoppable since. As lunkheaded cop Jenko, partner to Jonah Hill’s Schmidt, Tatum gave the undercover high-school hijinks a refreshing airheaded vibe. This time around, as the film never tires of telling you (though it is tiring), they’re going to do the same thing, but bigger. That means college. The movie is neither here nor there plot-wise and needs some better female characters---ladycops, anyone?---but coasts merrily along on Tatum and Hill’s tremendous chemistry and charm. Pointless? Yes. Fun? The most. —Tara Thorne