21 Jump StreetMovie Reviews

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Avg. Critic Score: 69 out of 100 Generally favorable reviews Metascore® based on all critic reviews
Information for Parents:
16 Iffy for 16+
Read Common Sense Media review

Critic scores range from 0 to 100, with higher scores indicating more favorable reviews.

  • 91
    Entertainment Weekly | Lisa Schwarzbaum

    Underneath, 21 Jump Street is a riot of risks that pay off, the biggest of which might be handing Tatum funny business. Read full review

  • 88
    Boston Globe | Wesley Morris

    We have lots of terminology for what happens when two male stars appear to have the platonic hots for each other. The genre is called bromance. The feelings are bromantic. The orientation is bromosexuality. What Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum have in 21 Jump Street scrambles, transcends, and explodes all of that. Read full review

  • 80
    The Hollywood Reporter | Michael Rechtshaffen

    Not since Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg teamed up in "The Other Guys" has an onscreen pairing proved as comically rewarding as the inspired partnership of Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum. Read full review

  • 75
    Rolling Stone | Peter Travers

    Are we always still in high school in our heads? 21 Jump Street thinks so. And Hill and Tatum are just the crazy-ass comedy team to prove it. Read full review

  • 75
    San Francisco Chronicle | Peter Hartlaub

    This film is even better if you come in with no spoilers and low expectations. Read full review

  • 75
    USA Today | Claudia Puig

    The dialogue is fast-paced and full of pop-culture references. It all makes for an entertaining blend of buddy-cop action and irreverent teen-comedy satire. Read full review

  • 75
    Philadelphia Inquirer | Carrie Rickey

    Whatever you call 21 Jump Street, this potty-mouthed and drug-laced reimagining of the 1980s TV show has one of the highest laughs-per-minute ratios since the "Naked Gun" films. Read full review

  • 70
    NPR |

    The devil-may-care attitude is what makes 21 Jump Street so entertaining. Read full review

  • 60
    Wall Street Journal | Joe Morgenstern

    This cheerfully chaotic, gleefully vulgar action-comedy retread of the old television series has box-office success written all over it, and where's the harm? It's irresistibly funny until it isn't. Read full review

  • 60
    New York Daily News | Joe Neumaier

    Through it all, Tatum and Hill are totally winning. Read full review

View more reviews for 21 Jump Street on Metacritic

Information for Parents
Common Sense Media says Iffy for 16+ TV-based buddy comedy is crude but hilarious.
What Parents Need to Know Parents need to know that 21 Jump Street is an often crude (but irreverently funny) action/buddy comedy based on the popular '80s TV series that launched Johnny Depp's career. This version stars popular actors Channing Tatum and Jonah Hill as bumbling cops who attempt to redeem themselves by going undercover to bust a high school drug ring. The storyline leads to plenty of drug content (there's also pot smoking and some underage drinking), and you can also expect lots of strong language (including "f--k," "s--t," and more), crude references, and sexual innuendoes.
  • Families can talk about how 21 Jump Street portrays high school. Is it realistic? Is it meant to be? Teens: How does this school compare to yours?
  • Parents, talk to your kids about social struggles and drug use in high school. Does this film depict either/both accurately? What are the consequences of substance use/abuse in real life?
  • How does the movie compare to the original 21 Jump Street TV show? If you were a fan of the series, is the movie what you expected?
The good stuff
  • message true2 Positive messages: 21 Jump Street's main message is that friendship trumps high school stereotypes and popularity contests -- as long as you keep an eye on what's important (relationships) and what's not (your position in an imposed hierarchy).
  • rolemodels true1 Positive role models: The two lead characters are sometimes inept and inane and not always supportive of each other, but in the end they realize the error of their ways.
What to watch for
  • violence false3 Violence: Lots of it, but generally played cartoonishly (and lots of slow-motion scenes). A character rejoices when his friend shoots someone (it's a gross-out moment); guns are drawn and pointed at someone's head. Though most of the fight scenes are cartoonish in nature, blood is shed. And cops rejoice after arresting and shooting people.
  • sex false3 Sexy stuff: Three people are shown in a state of undress while in the middle of a sex act (though there's no graphic nudity); in an end-credits scenes, two couples are seen together. Also lots of crude language and sex talk, including discussion of teens hooking up and/or wanting to. Some kissing and sexual gestures; genitalia are drawn on family photographs and also can be glimpsed briefly in a non-sexual context.
  • language false4 Language: Very frequent use of strong language, including "f--k," "s--t," "ass," "bitch," "p---y," "prick," "d--k," "damn," "hell," "goddamn," and "oh my God" (as an exclamation).
  • consumerism false1 Consumerism: It's a teen movie, so the products that teens use -- laptops, phones, etc. -- are on display. But there's not a lot of label-dropping.
  • drugsalcoholtobacco false4 Drinking, drugs and smoking: The plot centers around the arrest of a drug ring that deals in a high school; they've created a synthetic drug whose effects have been chronicled on a website. The video has gone viral, and the 21 Jump Street agents have to stop the drug from spreading, too. There's also pot-smoking and some underage drinking at parties.
An independent nonprofit dedicated to providing families the information they need to help kids thrive in a world of media and technology. © Common Sense Media Inc. 2010. All rights reserved.

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