"21 Jump Street" is a 2012 American action comedy film starring Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum, written by Hill and Michael Bacall, and directed by Phil Lord and Chris Miller. It serves as a loose sequel to the 1987 television series "21 Jump Street" by Stephen J. Cannell. The film is about a pair of underachieving cops are sent back to a local high school to blend in and bring down a synthetic drug ring.
The performances in the film were all held together by the two main lead actors Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum as Morton Schmidt and Greg Jenko. Their performances were surprisingly funny, ridiculous, different and yet familiar to the original characters from the original TV series. Jonah Hill plays the nerdy, self concious cop while Channing Tatum plays the "dumb jock." There were also some familiar faces such as Brie Larson, Ice Cube, and most of all Johnny Depp, Richard Grieco and Peter DeLuise as their characters from the original TV series in cameo appearances.
In conclusion, at first I thought the film was absolutely terrible and full of ridiclous obscenities. But later I realized that it is a smart, affectionate satire of '80s nostalgia and teen movie tropes, 21 Jump Street offers rowdy mainstream comedy with a surprisingly satisfying bite. It was like a cop action flick meets a warm, fuzzy John Hughes comedy film. Overall, it receives 3/5 stars.
