In “Ride Along,” a tough-guy cop brings a desperate wannabe cop on a ride along to try and scare him away, but they end up finding themselves wrapped up in personal family issues and more trouble than either of them ever expected.

Kevin Hart plays Ben, an up-and-coming high school security guard who just got accepted into the Police Academy–and is close to marrying the woman of his dreams, Angela (Tika Sumpter).

The thing is: There is no way the engagement will ever happen unless Ben gets a blessing and stamp of approval from Angela’s protective older brother, James (Ice Cube). This task seems nearly impossible seeing that there is already bad blood between the two due to past incidences and the fact that James sees Ben as a horrible mate for his sister.

James gets the bright idea to chase Ben away by taking the amateur out for the day as an honorary cop, hoping the adventure will give him a reason to deny Ben’s engagement to Angela.

As the movie progresses it becomes clear that James takes his job very seriously. Throughout the day he sends Ben on wild goose chases as he secretly does detective work on a case involving a high profile criminal, Omar, that everybody knows of but nobody has ever seen.

Poor Ben is constantly getting them into loads of trouble throughout the day–ending in near death– including James getting scolded by his boss for wasting time and endangering the community.

Eventually Ben’s odd, extensive knowledge of combat video games becomes useful to James and his investigation involving Omar, making the two of them an odd pair that actually seems to work out.

Director Tim Story did a good job making sure the chemistry between the two actors shows to the audience.

Each joke is set up cohesively, be it Ice Cube scolding Hart with his classic glaring eye expressions, or Hart’s hilarious mannerisms fans have grown to love; there is hardly a dull moment in the movie.

 Viewers will find it hard not to compare “Ride Along” to other dynamic due cop films like “Rush Hour” (Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker) as well “National Security” (Martin Lawrence and Steve Zahn).

 Moviegoers get to experience a full 99 minutes of genuinely enjoyable comedy full of twists and turns that are sometimes predictable, but somehow do not ruin the quality of the movie.

Ice Cube has already been a part of some classic movies and Hart is definitely creating a massive fan base with his latest movie and TV endeavors, making “Ride Along” a must-see movie of the season.

Anisca Miles can be reached at [email protected]