It’s just like its predecessor, in that both seem destined for heavy rotation on TNT, to be half-watched for a few minutes at a time by channel-surfers and laundry-folders. That’s probably the best way to ingest this good-naturedly dumb action comedy, as prolonged exposure may cause irritation. In this installment, mean-faced police detective James Payton (Ice Cube) is again paired with his sister's pocket-sized screech owl of a fiancé, Ben (Kevin Hart), now fresh out of the academy and eager to prove he’s a great cop. (He's actually dangerously inept, but he’ll fall ass-backwards into success anyway.) A chatterbox hacker-turned-informant (Ken Jeong) and a no-nonsense lady detective (Olivia Munn) are thankfully added to the mix as they seek to bring down a Miami kingpin, giving James and Ben someone new to spar with, and letting someone other than Kevin Hart be a pest for once. Returning director Tim Story and writers Phil Hay and Matt Manfredi score a few laughs amid the formulaic car chases and shootouts, and the rest passes amiably.
By
Eric D. Snider