Movie Review: Ride Along

Have you ever had to win someone over? In January 2014, Ben got his
opportunity to try and win James over, and all it was going to take was a ride along. Lucky for us, it turned out to be a ride you won't want to miss.

Directing this 99 minute action/comedy is Tim Story.

Some of the cast is: Ice Cube as James Payton, Kevin Hart as Ben Barber, Tika Sumpter as Angela Payton, John Leguizamo as Santiago, Bryan Callen as Miggs, Bruce McGill as Lt. Brooks and Laurence Fishburne as Omar.

Ben wants to enter the police academy, to not only become a policeman but, to give his girlfriend Angela a better life than his current security guard pay check can offer. So, Ben asks her brother James for his blessing to marry Angela. Not liking the idea, or Ben for that matter, James says no. Dealing with all the crime on the
street everyday as a cop, James knows the dangers and doesn't believe Ben is good enough to take care of his sister. After Ben explains he wants to become a policeman also, James strikes a deal with him... a ride along one day on duty with James so Ben can see what it's like on the streets of Atlanta, and prove he's worthy of marriage Angela. Now, all Ben has to do is man up and look good in the eyes of a serious detective. Unfortunately for Ben, James has his sights set on a more serious matter, like the notorious Omar that has been eluding police capture for quite some time. If James could capture Omar AND get rid of his wanna-be brother-in-law then he could say, "Today was a good day!".


Question: What do you get when you mix a Cube with a Hart? Answer: A really funny movie!  Something I had already expected going into this film. The storyline is good, and has a really funny playthrough. It's about family looking out for family, and a man willing to go that extra mile to prove his worth. The movie has some pretty good action scenes, but really it relies on the comedy more than the action, which didn't really hurt the film. Come on, it's a cop movie, you have to have a few shoot-outs! The cast did great, but Hart has shown his comedy skill before and can hold his own hands down. While Ice Cube has given us some really funny comedies as well. So again, I expected to be entertained by this one, and I wasn't disappointed. I didn't know Fishburne was in this flick until he popped up, cool surprise! He's one of those actors I wish would stop popping into movies and start doing them full time again. Either or, the movie is very entertaining and worth the time to check it out.

It's rated PG-13 for violence and language.

4 stars


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