Watch Ride Along Online Well, Universal is already planning a sequel, so what does that tell you about their confidence in the film’s financial performance? And while I don’t have the exact budget for this one on hand, I’d have to guess that it wasn’t particularly expensive; probably $20 million at most. First of all, frankly it looks and feels cheap, and second of all star Kevin Hart has made a point of avoiding the Taylor Kitsch trap.

Watch Ride Along Online Kevin Hart has plenty of heat coming off of two successful stand-up comedy documentaries (Laugh At My Pain in 2011 and Let Me Explain last summer) and supporting roles in Think Like A Man and This Is The End. He is arguably poised for a true break-out hit that cements his status as the next big comedy star. Will this be it? Without getting expectations too high, I wouldn’t be shocked if this one crushes Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit over the Martin Luther King Day weekend. A $40m four-day debut wouldn’t shock me, but $20m is fine too.

Watch Ride Along Online Ice Cube is a relatively consistent draw and/or added-value player for over twenty years, in everything from Friday to Anaconda to Three Kings to Barbershop to Are We There Yet?. It’s a potent combination, especially in a rather conventional action comedy with an easy premise to sell (the tagline says it all). The obvious comparisons are Rush Hour and 48 Hrs, with Mr. Hart hoping to become the “next Chris Tucker”.

Watch Ride Along Online Whether or not Ride Along leads to bigger and better things, it still stands out as yet another reasonably-budgeted genre entry that happens to be African-American-centric. But I would frankly be shocked if this isn’t the start of a new buddy-cop franchise and that the film isn’t seen as the proverbial coronation of Kevin Hart’s stardom. Comedy, by virtue of its relative inexpensiveness, is perhaps the last place where a movie star on the poster is enough to make a hit. And Kevin Hart is probably about to become the newest “face on the poster” comic movie star.

Watch Ride Along Online Tim Story’s Ride Along is funny. I did in-fact laugh relatively regularly during its 100-minute running time. But that the film, even a straight comedy, is funny does not mean it is good. And Ride Along suffers from a weak screenplay credited to four screenwriters yet remains mired in cliché and convention and a lack of focus. For those who merely want to be amused by Kevin Hart’s comic antics and Ice Cube’s slow burn reactions, you’ll arguably get your money’s worth. But just because I laughed doesn’t mean Ride Along is a good movie.

Watch Ride Along Online The picture starts on a promising note, with one of those humorously cheap action sequences that often open films that aren’t expensive enough to be out-and-out action pictures. Kevin Hart gets a charming establishing scene as he convinces a potentially troubled youth to stay in school, after which it’s off-to-the-races. In short, Hart is planning on proposing to his longtime girlfriend (Tika Sumpter, utterly wasted) but requires the blessing of her overprotective older brother (Ice Cube). After hearing that Hart has been accepted into the police academy, Cube takes his would-be brother-in-law on a “ride along”.

Watch Ride Along Online What follows is a predictable serious of would-be comic adventures, as the duo go from one wacky crime scene to another with predictably slapstick results. To the surprise of no one, the ride-along, an attempt to scare Hart away from the police force and away from Cube’s sister, eventually dovetails into a serious investigation. There is a constant push-pull over whether Hart should be the comic force of nature or the reactor to wackiness around him, and the film never commits to either direction. The picture works better when it’s deep in crime-solving mode, if only because we get to see the likes of Bruce McGill and John Leguizamo.

Watch Ride Along Online The back-and-forth between Hart and Cube is amusing, but the sequences of Hart attempting to act like a cop strain the suspension of disbelief to the point of negating the relationships. Hart simply puts strained comedy ahead of narrative logic, even when having him succeed or fail in a more plausible manner would be even funnier. This is especially true in a second-act face-off in a strip club (yup, it’s that kind of movie, complete with PG-13 nudity but crying strippers held at gunpoint) where by all-rights Hart should have been killed instantly. More amusing is Hart’s attempt to interrogate a small child, since it’s funny while seeming to take place in the real world.

Watch Ride Along Online The picture momentarily improves as it refocuses on the core mystery, which leads to a warehouse showdown and the one truly great scene of the picture, which I won’t spoil here. But it’s the rare moment where the film’s twin story lines converge in genuinely logical and winning fashion. Still, the film doesn’t know when to quit and tacks on a useless and contrived situation involving last-minute lessons and damsels-in-distress. The film forgets that it’s a comedy and doesn’t have the money or discipline to be a genuine action-adventure picture. Instead of quitting while it’s ahead, it sputters to a lifeless conclusion and utterly wastes the talents of the actor playing the main villain (it’s supposed to be a surprise, but just check the opening credits).

Watch Ride Along Online Still, I’d be lying if I said that I didn’t chuckle for much of the picture, even as I rolled my eyes at certain clichés and the relative mediocrity on display. Tim Story shoots in 2.35:1 yet films but frames much of the dialogue sequences in extreme close-up, and a third-act shootout lacks even basic geographical or narrative comprehension. Like The Heat, far too much of the humor is based in cops engaging in outright criminal violations of due process and civil rights of potentially innocent people. Despite the fact that Ride Along isn’t very good, there is potential for a franchise if the film hits big this weekend. Ice Cube and Kevin Hart have genuine chemistry, and they could easily use Jay Pharoah (in a blink-and-you-miss-it cameo) as a comic foil the next time around.

Watch Ride Along Movie Online Ride Along works primarily as a showcase for Kevin Hart but fails most elsewhere. Is it funny?  Yes, it mostly is. But is it a good film or even a good movie?  No, not in the slightest.  But there is certainly room for improvement, and we can hope for a sharper and more disciplined screenplay, as well as a better balance of comedy and action, in the inevitable Ride Along 2.