Ride Along

"Oh, damn, it's Sir Scream-A-Lot!"

"I was responding to a hostile situation, James."
"That was a high-pitched scream."

James Payton (Cube) is a tough cop that doesn't trust anyone.  His sister, Angela (Sumpter), is dating high school security guard Ben Barber (Hart).  After Ben gets accepted to the Atlanta Police Academy he asks for James' permission to propose to Angela.  James challenges Ben to a ride along to prove he is worthy.

Meanwhile, James is trying to find a way to bring criminal mastermind Omar to justice.  Despite warnings from Lieutenant Brooks (McGill), he has his associates Santiago (Leguizamo) and Miggs (Callen) checking leads while he terrorizes Ben.


I enjoy Kevin Hart.  It seems like he is everywhere, between films and TV and his comedy shows.  I enjoyed his stand up Kevin Hart: Seriously Funny and decided to give this film a try because he was in it.  Also, the trailers looked promising.

Ice Cube often plays tough characters, and is very convincing in those roles.  He has made a few comedies, but he is mostly known for serious action films.  This film is comfortably in his wheelhouse, while delving in comedy.  He has excellent chemistry with Hart.  Hart gets most of the laughs in the film, with his rapid delivery and facial expressions.  The rest of the cast are decent in their roles, but the story focuses on the relationship between the male leads.

The film is a nice mix of humor and action.  The film was successful enough for New Line Cinema to greenlight a sequel for 2016.

Ride Along (2014) 99 minutes
Rating: PG-13 for sequences of violence, sexual content and brief strong language
Director: Tim Story
Starring: Ice Cube as James Payton
Kevin Hart as Ben Barber
John Leguizamo as Santiago
Bruce McGill as Lieutenant Brooks
Tika Sumpter as Angela Payton
Bryan Callen as Miggs