7/10
I don't think I ever reviewed 21 Jump Street here but I like it a lot, probably one of my favorite comedies of the last few years. It had the right amount of self-awareness about its silly premise, surprisingly good chemistry between Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum, and it was consistently funny.
The 2nd one has some good jokes but overall is a bit of a step down. It really overloads the self-awareness factor, constantly poking fun of its own existence as a sequel, but sometimes it's a bit too much - like yeah, we get it. Hill and Tatum are still good together but the movie reintroduces the same conflict from the first one, only flipped: now Tatum is the popular one and Hill is the one feeling brushed aside. It was funnier when they subverted expectations by doing the reverse in the first one, now the conflict feels forced and the scenario (Tatum becoming the football stud, Hill becoming the art school geek) is not nearly as clever.
Also the feeling of sequel-itis and the need to do everything bigger and better this time creeps in and the movie rushes through a lot of plotting (the central investigation, Tatum's rise as a football stud and his bromance with the quarterback, Hill dating the police chief's daughter, a last act spring break trip to Mexico). The movie boasts almost the exact same running time as its predecessor but somehow feels longer and weightier.
But all that said, anyone who liked 21 will probably not find anything to hate here. There's some good laughs but I just don't think I'll return to it as often as I've rewatched 21. The end credits gag reel where they go through a dozen scenarios for future Jump Street installments is a must-see, though.
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