RIDE ALONG – The Blu Review

When Michael Haffner reviewed RIDE ALONG here at We Are Movie Geeks, he wrote: “RIDE ALONG is a breezy time waster that thankfully knows its limits and doesn’t strive for much more.” (read the rest of Michael’s review HERE

I concur. There’s always something fun about watching Kevin Hart bug his eyes out and raise his voice into a high nasal whine while blurting out mediocre dialog. And Ice Cube makes for a fine straight man in RIDE ALONG, a comedy about fast-talking security guard Ben (Hart) who joins his cop brother-in-law James (Cube) on a 24-hour patrol of Atlanta in order to prove himself worthy of marrying Angela (Tike Sumpter), James’ sister. RIDE ALONG has every cliché in the cop buddy action movie genre but the two actors well play off each other,  like an updated black Lewis and Martin. I also liked that it did not rely 100% on the racist and/or dirty jokes that I was expecting, playing more as a good-natured, PG-13 spoof of TRAINING DAY.

Highlights of RIDE ALONG include slapstick visit to a gun range with a spastic Ben struggling to hold the heavy weapon, a funny confrontation with gun smugglers in a strip club, and a cleverly-written scene crosscutting James’ interrogation of a rubber-faced informant (Jay Pharaoh from SNL) with Ben’s attempts to interrogate his kid brother. As the movie enters its final half hour, it turns into more generic action film with car chases and ends with a not-unexpected overly-sentimental finale.

RIDE ALONG makes its Blu-ray debut from Universal Studios Home Entertainment on April 15^th and I’ve seen it.

The technical specs on the RIDE ALONG Blu-ray are up to par with a clear MPEG-4 AVC 1080p resolution
2.40:1 aspect ratio image that never glitches and is always clean, clear, sharp, and vibrant.

The 5.1 DTS-HD master audio is also up to the task, giving dialogue clarity and weight in addition to distributing a lot of music without drowning out the other elements.

The RIDE ALONG Blu-ray contains plenty of extras:

– Alternate Ending

– Deleted Scenes

– Alternate Take

– Kev and Cube’s Wild Ride – Allows audiences to experience Kevin Hart and Ice Cube’s electrifying chemistry in a short feature that shows firsthand how these two megastars fed each other creatively, how Hart’s energy fueled the process,  and what he learned about dedication and focus by working with Ice Cube.

– An Explosive Ride:  Ever wonder what it would be like to be beaten up by Laurence Fishburne?  This trip behind the scenes exposes the hilarious exchanges between the stars and their stunt doubles.

– You Gonna Learn Today:  An inside look at the film’s many hilarious off-script moments including b-roll, dailies and alternate takes that showcase the stars’ incredible comic gifts.

– Anatomy of the Big Blast:  Watch as the cast and crew prep for the movie’s most explosive sequence!

– Gag Reel

– It Was A Good Day: On The Set Of Ride Along:  A backstage visit puts audiences on the set of Ride Along as they share in the cast and crew’s outrageously wild time.  In-your-face, first-person footage featuring Kevin Hart, Ice Cube, John Leguizamo and the rest of the cast and crew continues the fast-paced laughs and action of the film.

– Atlanta – The Character:  Often called Hollywood South, the city of Atlanta plays a starring role in Ride Along as Kevin Hart, Ice Cube and crew take audiences on an exclusive tour of their ’hood.

– Feature Commentary With Director Tim Story

Also includes a Blu-ray and Digital HD with Ultraviolet

Because of the care and effort made to provide a quality home presentation loaded with extras, I do recommend purchasing the RIDE ALONG Blu-ray