21 Jump Street was way better than it ever deserved to be. In an era of reboots, it stood alone as the film that actually tweaked its source material enough to spit out an original product. It occasionally mocked its existence, but spent more time poking fun at the Glee-generation and flipping high school stereotypes on their head than it did rehashing old narratives. It barely felt like a reboot.
Two years later, 22 Jump Street feels like nothing but a sequel. In fact, the movie's sole purpose is to remind you, over and over again, that you're watching a sequel that was only made to squeeze more money out of a tired concept. The self-satire is frequently amusing, but 22 Jump Street spends so much time making fun of itself that it forgets to become more than the concept it's been mocking.
