Remake does justice
21 Jump Street raked in $35 million during its opening weekend. The film staring Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum bested Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax, which had been the top film for the last two weeks.
Though, turning a 80s TV show into a feature length film can be risky. All too often these movies fail to hit their mark, but 21 Jump Street played it smart. Instead of presenting itself as a serious action film, it took the route of a comedy, playing off of Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum’s unique energy together. The duo plays a pair of loser cops who have to go undercover in a high school to bring down a synthetic drug ring. However, with both of them being completely inept officers, everything that could go wrong does.
Fans of the original 21 Jump Street, staring a young Johnny Depp, shouldn’t walk into the remake with any expectations. The film is clearly geared for the 25 and under crowd.
“I just think you had to make it relevant, and action comedy was the way to go. And they did make it very relevant to a young audience,” said Rory Bruer, head of distribution for Sony. “The guys, Jonah and Channing, were just killer together. They had incredible chemistry and certainly were the attraction for younger crowds.”
