Explosions, nightclub shootouts, and sports cars in Miami. Sounds like another another edition of the neverending buddy cop movie franchise. “Ride Along 2 — Training Day is Over” is the second production of the series. Atlantic City rookie cop Ben Barber (Kevin Hart), who wants nothing more than to prove himself to his future brother-in-law, detective James Payton (Ice Cube), prepares for his wedding when a new assignment comes up that could make his career. 

Despite the heavy competition, no one can say the film isn’t doing well. With the current and upcoming releases of major motion pictures, such as “Star Wars: The Force Awakens,” “Deadpool,” “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice,” among others, “Ride Along 2” had some pretty big shoes to fill. With a budget of $40 million, twice the original budget for the first movie, “Ride Along 2” has more than doubled what they spent, with current box office sales to $88.9 million dollars.

It is hard nowadays to find a good, original action movie that brings up an entirely new obstacle never before been seen on the big screen. “Ride Along 2” is no exception. Like so many others before, the film’s plot is two cops who work diligently to take down a villainous criminal mastermind and its organization — without the backing from their own department.

The movie’s plot is completely unoriginal. You can see examples of this from other films: “Lethal Weapon,” “Die Hard,” “Bad Boys,” and on and on. Although the main plot is almost copied and pasted from other films, there is a more comedic tone to “Ride Along 2,” directed by Tim Story and written by Phil Hay and Matt Manfredi. Unlike many other action movies, I would say this movie is more comedy than action.

Don’t get me wrong, there are shootouts, explosions, and foot and car chases aplenty, but it almost seems as if the movie is trying too hard to give comedic satisfaction to substitute for a thin plot.

Though the movie lacks originality, I found myself constantly laughing. All in all, if you enjoy a good laugh and a couple of explosions, then I would definitely recommend you take a few friends and go see the movie.