21 Jump Street
2012109 minutes
rated R
by Scott Mendelson
By all rights, this film should be a disaster. On paper, a comedic reboot of a half-forgotten gritty 1980s crime drama that even its breakout star decried as fascist is the epitome of lazy pop-culture recycling. But by God, this is a real movie, a genuinely clever and often inspired comedy rooted in character and with a token amount of real intelligence. Like Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl, 21 Jump Street uses its property as a mere jumping off point in order to do its own thing and tell its own tale. Written by Michael Bacall and Jonah Hill, directed by Phil Lord and Chris Miller, it's almost good enough to actually ennoble the current trend of random 1980s/1990s remakes, reboots, and reinventions.
