22 Jump Street — the cleverest sequel to a dumb movie of all time

22 JUMP Street: Channing Tatum and Jonah Hill share a rare comedic connection that money just can’t buy in a film that cracks plenty of strong gags at its own expense.

Jonah Hill, left, and Channing Tatum in Columbia Pictures' "22 Jump Street." Picture: Supplied

LET the record show 21 Jump Street was the smartest dumb movie of the millennium so far.

So what of 22 Jump Street, then? All you really need to know is that it’s the cleverest sequel to a dumb movie of all time.

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Channing Tatum and Jonah Hill return as cops Jenko and Schmidt in <i>22 Jump Street</i>.

OK, so it didn’t really have to beat much in that category (Hot Shots! Part Deux, anyone?). Nevertheless, it’s the thought — or lack thereof — that counts.

A lot of brain cells have died so that the slam-dunkingly stoo-pid jokes in 22 Jump Street could live.

The stars go undercover as college students in the latest movie.

All that wasted intelligence shouldn’t be in vain. Not when the laughter-to-silence ratio remains so consistently high.

If you’ve seen the original, you’ll already be aware stars Channing Tatum and Jonah Hill share a rare comedic connection that money just can’t buy.

Each knows exactly when to get out of the way if the other is on a roll (and just as crucially, when to ride the other into the ground when a killer put-down is there for the taking).

Unlike other sequels, the new movie doesn’t bother trying to hide its less-than-imaginative reason for existing.

In fact, 22 Jump Street keeps reminding the audience they are being sold secondhand goods throughout.

The sequel is immediately cracking so many strong gags at its own expense that the sameness of the plot never becomes much of a drawback at all.

Therefore little time is wasted in getting those mismatched cops Jenko (Tatum) and Schmidt (Hill) an undercover upgrade. They’re no longer posing as high school students. Now they are college students. Shock twist, huh?

Jonah Hill makes an entrance at the world premiere of <i>22 Jump Street</i>.

Even their latest assignment — unmasking the campus kingpin who is selling the kids a dangerous new narcotic named WhyPhy — barely registers on the fresh-o-meter.

Instead, it is what happens when the main storyline is ignored that gives 22 Jump Street its eclectic edge.

Tatum plays Jenko faster and looser this time around, and the character is no longer just a low-IQ lug. Jenko’s newfound need to inject some parkour whenever it is not really required never gets old throughout the picture.

Hill takes more of a backseat as the outta-shape-and-outta-touch Schmidt for certain periods, but can still step up with the funny at a second’s notice. A run of scenes where Schmidt earns the everlasting hatred of his boss (Ice Cube) is Hill at his very best.

Channing Tatum dances as he and actor Jonah Hill arrive at the Regency Village Theatre in LA.

Speaking of the very best, the inspired direction seen here is the work of the red-hot-right-now Phil Lord and Chris Miller (The Lego Movie).

22 Jump Street (MA15+)

Director: Phil Lord, Christopher Miller

Starring: Channing Tatum, Jonah Hill, Ice Cube, Amber Stevens, Wyatt Russell, Nick Offerman, Peter Stormare

Verdict: Three-and-a-half stars. You have the right to remain laughing

Jenna Dewan-Tatum joins her husband and Jonah Hill on the red carpet.

Originally published as 22 Jump Street — the cleverest sequel to a dumb movie of all time