22 Jump Street’s frat-boy formula works

Their characters, Jenko and Schmidt, are immature, inept individuals whose penchant for mishaps feeds the humour. Released two years ago, the first film attempted to reboot a largely forgotten 1987 TV series that helped launch Johnny Depp’s career.

This hearty sequel follows basically the same storyline, but with more laughs and less gross-out humour. It is far more enjoyable than its predecessor and the characters become quite likeable. Instead of infiltrating a high school to arrest the suppliers of a new synthetic drug, Jonah Hill’s Schmidt and Channing Tatum’s Jenko now attend a college to do the same.

Jonah Hill, Ice Cube and Channing Tatum in ’22 Jump Street’. Picture: Supplied.

But when Jenko meets a kindred spirit on the football team named Zook (Wyatt Russell), and Schmidt infiltrates the art major scene, where he meets a sexy lady (Amber Stevens), they begin to question their partnership.

Directed by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller (The Lego Movie), 22 Jump Street cleverly uses Tatum’s puppy-dog appeal and Hill’s low-key vulnerability. The directors have also made effective use of Ice Cube as their irate boss. His character degenerates from being a belligerent policeman to launching a near-homicidal vendetta against Schmidt.