22 JUMP STREET (2014) ***

Having successfully infiltrated a high school in the first movie, undercover cops Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum graduate and go to college to stop more drug dealers in this solidly entertaining sequel.  Most sequels are content to do the same thing all over again, just in a different location.  The smart screenplay knowingly accepts this and has a lot of fun playing with the conventions of a sequel. 

It helps that Hill and Tatum willingly accept the ridiculous premise and embrace it.  We also get a pretty funny subplot where Hill gets in hot water with his boss, Ice Cube when he hooks up with his daughter.  (Cube does a fine job yet again as basically the Yelling Captain of the piece.)  The new players, which include Wyatt Russell and Jillian Bell also get some laughs and make the most of their screen time.

22 Jump Street is at its best when it’s satirizing the art of fast-buck sequels.  It’s less interesting (and funny) when it allows Hill and Tatum to split up and “investigate other people”.  While that scene itself is funny, it quickly becomes obvious that they work better together as a team and not so much as two separate solo acts.

Make sure you stick around for the end credits, because it’s easily the best thing about the movie.  It’s here where we get to see trailers for the next ten installments of the series (including a video game).  This section also features some great cameos too (one in particular made me applaud), so keep your eyes peeled.  I don’t know if the team of Lord and Miller will ever get around to directing all (if any) of these future installments, but the clips alone were enough to put a smile on my face.