Ride Along

This buddy-cop film teams motor-mouthed comedian Kevin Hart with growling, grimacing rapper-turned-actor Ice Cube. Video-game obsessed Ben Barber (Hart) is a high-school security guard who becomes an eager cadet at the Atlanta Police Academy. He wants to marry Angela Payton (Tika Sumpter), whose overly protective older brother James (Ice Cube)—a surly veteran cop—takes an immediate dislike to diminutive Ben, calling him “a chromosome away from being a midget.” To gain James's approval, Ben agrees to accompany him on the titular ride-along to see just how dangerous the street can be. What Ben doesn't know is that James and his cohorts (John Leguizamo, Bryan Callen) have arranged a series of encounters to scare and shame Ben. Much bantering and bickering ensues until the pair inevitably bond and take off in pursuit of Omar (Laurence Fishburne), a shadowy crime kingpin embroiled in a deadly arms deal. Director Tim Story routinely telegraphs everything in advance in this flimsy action comedy that generated enough box-office to set in place plans for a sequel. Optional. [Note: DVD/Blu-ray extras include audio commentary by director Tim Story, an “It Was a Good Day: On the Set” featurette (12 min.), an “Atlanta: The Character” location featurette (3 min.), a gag reel (3 min.), and trailers. Exclusive to the Blu-ray release are deleted scenes (9 min.); the behind-the-scenes featurettes “Kev & Cube's Wild Ride” (5 min.), “Anatomy of the Big Blast” (5 min.), “An Explosive Ride” (5 min.), and “You Gonna Learn Today” (4 min.); an alternate take (2 min.) and alternate ending (2 min.); and bonus DVD, digital, and UltraViolet copies of the film. Bottom line: a solid extras package for a mostly lame film.] (S. Granger)