The principals involved with “22 Jump Street” have a lot of momentum coming into this project: Channing Tatum's leading-man career keeps going from strength to strength, while Jonah Hill is coming off his second Oscar nomination in three years. Directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, meanwhile, currently have the year's highest grosser in “The LEGO Movie” — a film that hit theaters only four months ago. “21 Jump Street” pleasantly surprised critics and audiences two years ago, so has this team again surpassed expectations for the sequel? Have they ever.
To my mind, “22 Jump Street” is an absolute bullseye — a hilarious, ingeniously conceived follow-up that manages to be smartly self-referential (with a lot of sequel putdowns at its own expense) without coming across as smug or heartless. That's largely thanks to the stars' warm, spontaneous chemistry: Tatum is particularly funny and footloose here. (He may wind up in the Oscar conversation for his ace dramatic work in “Foxcatcher,” but he's just as good here.) To cut a long story short, it's my favorite film of the summer so far. Drew McWeeny was also tickled, but what about you? Did it deliver or disappoint? Share your thoughts below when/if you've seen it, and vote in the poll.