Ride Along 2 Movie Poster Image

Ride Along 2

age 14+
(i)

 

Formulaic sequel has violence, some funny moments.
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  • Review Date: January 15, 2016
  • Rated: PG-13
  • Genre: Comedy
  • Release Year: 2016
  • Running Time: 101 minutes

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What parents need to know

Positive messages

Loyalty is valuable, especially between two people who are about to become family. Also, it's important to be open to all sorts of people and experiences. 

Positive role models

Ben believes that people have good in them and doesn't let the chilly attitude of his future brother-in-law, James, prevent him from being a good friend and encouraging partner on the police force. James, on the other hand, is a little less enthusiastic, and is sometimes guilty of underestimating his soon-to-be brother-in-law.

Violence

Many scenes with deadly and destructive car chases, explosions, shoot-outs (sometimes resulting in death), and fist fights. Some of it is partly offset by the movie's comedic tone.

Sex

A woman entices her fiance to bed by wearing skimpy clothes and flashing cleavage. Sexual innuendo. At a bar, scantily clad women at flirt with patrons.

Language

Some swearing, including "ass," "bulls--t," "bitch," "damn," and "pissed."

Consumerism

Brands/labels shown or mentioned include Capri Sun, Coors Lite, Gucci, Jaguar, and Dell.

Drinking, drugs, & smoking

Some social drinking at a club, as well as a few allusions to cocaine smuggling. 

Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that Ride Along 2 -- the sequel to 2014's Ride Along -- is a buddy action-comedy starring Kevin Hart and Ice Cube. Expect tons of gravity- and death-defying action (explosions, destructive chases, shoot-outs, etc.) and humorous banter, the latter with a fair bit of swearing (including "s--t" and "ass"). There's also partying, social drinking, and allusions to cocaine smuggling, as well as plenty of innuendo -- plus scenes in which a woman entices her fiance to bed by wearing skimpy clothes and flashing cleavage.

What's the story?

A week before his wedding, Atlanta probationary cop Ben Barber (Kevin Hart)  and his soon-to-be brother-in-law, veteran detective James Payton (Ice Cube), head to Miami on a mission to take down  crime boss Antonio Pope (Benjamin Bratt), who's leading a double life as a legitimate Miami businessman. Convincing everyone else that Pope isn't what he seems may prove difficult. And it's unclear whether the guys can trust the hacker (Ken Jeong) who's double-crossed Pope and is now working with them. A local cop (Olivia Munn) might be able to help, but will she be enough to take on an entire crime syndicate?

Is it any good?

QUALITY

The original Ride Along smoothed over some of its many inconsistencies with the chemistry between its two leads; RIDE ALONG 2 doubles down on this formula, but it's wearing thin. Watching Hart and Cube develop into possible brothers-in-law in the first movie was reason enough to, yes, ride along with the thin plot. But this time around, Hart's Ben Barber doesn't seem to have gained any competency -- which would be fine, except the film relies on this cliche too many times. (Nonetheless, Hart still manages to squeeze some laughs out of the passable script.)

Adding Jeong to the equation mixes up the dynamic, but not by much. And Munn is a welcome addition, but the cast's considerable talents -- they're just fun to watch onscreen -- are wasted in this underwhelming sequel.

Families can talk about...

  • Families can talk about the violence in Ride Along 2. How does the movie's comedic tone affect its impact? Are all types of media violence created equal?

  • How is this movie different from, or similar to, other buddy comedies? Which are your favorites, and why?

  • Why do you think Ben puts up with his future brother-in-law's disdain? Does that seem realistic?

Movie details

Theatrical release date:January 15, 2016
DVD release date:April 26, 2016
Cast:Ice Cube, Kevin Hart, Olivia Munn
Director:Tim Story
Studio:Universal Pictures
Genre:Comedy
Topics:Friendship
Run time:101 minutes
MPAA rating:PG-13
MPAA explanation:sequences of violence, sexual content, language and some drug material

This review of Ride Along 2 was written by

S. Jhoanna Robledo
Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are conducted by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.

Quality

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Learning ratings

  • Best: Really engaging; great learning approach.
  • Very Good: Engaging; good learning approach.
  • Good: Pretty engaging; good learning approach.
  • Fair: Somewhat engaging; OK learning approach.
  • Not for Learning: Not recommended for learning.
  • Not for Kids: Not age-appropriate for kids; not recommended for learning.

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Parent of a 5, 8, and 13 year old Written byFanBoyJosh314 January 16, 2016
age 14+

Heartless sequel

The sequel to the original Ride Along is a heartless, hollow sequel that squanders what little charm one could glean from the original. Violence - A man holds a handgun on another man standing against a picture window as we see two shots hit the window from outside and we hear the man fall, apparently dead (we see no blood). A man shoots a gun and a man jumps in the shot's path, taking it in his bulletproof vest; another man picks him up and aims the back of the vest at the shooter and another person kills the shooter (we see a scratch of blood on the shooter's cheek). Sex - A woman dresses provocatively in a tight police shirt and hat, a bra revealing significant cleavage and bikini panties while swinging a night stick and handcuffs; she tells her fiancé, "You're going downtown" and he leaves the room (no sex occurs). Language - In the movie, I heard 2 uses of f**k, and at least 3 uses of douchebag, idiot, oh my god, and more.
What other families should know
Great messages
Too much violence
Too much swearing
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Teen, 17 years old Written byJflores14 January 17, 2016
age 16+

Hilarious comedy; plenty of edgy content

This film was so funny and my friend and I laughed the whole time. Kevin was so funny! The content was pushing the pg-13 boundaries though: CONTENT: VIOLENCE- lots of shooting, explosions, some characters die, lots of slapstick violence and mayhem, car blows up, and there is one public shooting that is intense SEX- constant innuendo and rude humor(references to black hammer are constant; aka his penis), a woman is seen in a bra and panties on a computer as she suggestively is dressed as a cat and sucks her tail (suggesting oral sex), another woman appears dressed as a cop in a pair of panties and a bra as she propositions a man with handcuffs LANGAUGE- two cut off uses of "motherf***er" in a song, many uses of ass, he'll, shit, bitch, tits, crap, and more MY RATING: PG-13/ for violence, innuendo, sexuality, and some strong langauge
What other families should know
Too much sex
Too much swearing
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Kid, 11 years old January 23, 2016
age 16+

Funny sexualized violent language filled comedy cop flick

Ride along 2 features lots of unkept neatly violence. there is lots of explosions and gunfights. there is also hand to hand combat and a few scenes of bloody violence. there is also some pretty stupid irresponsible behavior, crashing cars, hurting people, etc. there is also a scene of an accidental shooting involving some blood, one of the main characters is also about to shoot the innocent person in the head but is stopped by his partner. there is also some pretty strong language F**K is used twice in a song, S**T is used around 100 times, and hell and damn are used nonstop. there is also some pretty crude sexuality and images. one man in the movie named A.J has countless girlfriends and has sexual relationships with them. in one scene wee see a girl in underwear and bikini and then we see her twerking on camera. there is also some sexualized ringtones and a graphically said porn video is commented. there is also some drinking. overall the movie is best for older teens due to the adult content. I rate it PG-16 strong irresponsible behavior and violence some strong language crude sexual humor and images use of alcohol and adult content.
What other families should know
Great role models
Too much violence
Too much sex
Too much swearing
Too much drinking/drugs/smoking
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