Ride Along (film)

Undercover detective James Payton is on a falsifying passports operation run by "Omar". After a shootout with the smugglers, his lieutenant asks him to drop the case, which he does not.

Ben Barber, a jumpy, short high school security guard who plays video games in his spare time, applies to the Atlanta City Police Academy. He asks James for his blessing to marry his sister, Angela. James tells Ben has to go on a "ride along" first to prove he is worthy of her. If successful, he will recommend him for the academy, and give his blessing.

Taking Ben to the station, James asks dispatch to give him all the 1-26s that are called in, which he has Ben take care of. Questioning the informant Runflat, James uncovers the connection between Serbia and "Omar" and hears a shipment will come in later that day. Leaving the park, James takes Ben to the local shooting range and finds out that Zastava M92's have been given to the store. When a 1-26 is called in, Ben and James go to the Sweet Auburn Curb Market, where drunken 'Crazy Cody' is being disorderly. Ben tries to subdue him but cannot, so James arrests him.

Ben asks to be taken home before Angela's call. He tells her about his stressful day, and she tells him James plays poker with a guy named Crazy Cody, and that 1-26s are code for annoying situations for newbies as a joke. He then goes into the police station and sees Cody laughing with James, Santiago and Miggs.

Upset, Ben refuses to go home and instead takes a 1-26 for a disturbance at a strip club. There, two men get into a Mexican standoff with James and Ben which Ben, believing is another joke call, fools around. James subdues them, then they are tipped off about a gun deal with Omar's men. Ben confronts James about the 1-26s.

James receives a call from Santiago in the car, finding out that Runflat had turned himself in. Ben says Runflat's brother told him in the park Runflat had just got out of prison, news to James so, another clue. They talk to Runflat's other brother, J, to get the location of the gun deal. During the conversation, Ben accidentally shoots J, who reveals where and when the deal will take place.

Deciding to infiltrate the warehouse with Santiago and Miggs, James leaves Ben in the car. They betray him, turning out to be crooked cops working for Omar. James is then tied up, which Ben sees. Santiago mocks and criticizes James for being unsociable and egocentric. As the deal begins, Ben pretends to be Omar (as no one has ever seen the real Omar).

Successfully fooling them, Ben wreaks havoc at the deal. Just as he is about to leave with James, the real Omar appears. A shootout ensues, and many of Omar's men are killed. Ben shows his sharp reflexes and knowledge of battle (thanks to his gaming). James and Ben take the money from the deal and escape before the warehouse explodes as Ben's grenade hits a box of explosives and destroys James's car. Unbeknownst to them, Santiago, Miggs and Omar escape.

Santiago and Miggs arrive at Angela's apartment, tying her up. As she was playing one of Ben's interactive games, Ben's fellow gamers hear the confrontation between Angela, Miggs and Santiago through Ben's headset. At the hospital, being treated for a gunshot wound in the leg, Ben receives a call from a fellow gamer, who tells James something's going on at the apartment. After seeing some cops arriving at the hospital, James and Ben sneak out to the apartment with Omar's money.

James injures Miggs, before fighting with Santiago. As Santiago is about to shoot him, Angela knocks him out. Ben gets knocked out by Omar in a fight, who then takes the bag of money and Angela, and leaves.

James follows Omar and Angela, confronting him. Just as Omar is about to shoot James, Ben slides over a car and kicks him. James shoots Omar twice, injuring him. Police arrest Omar, Miggs, and Santiago, and James finally gives Ben his blessing.

In a mid-credits scene, Ben and Angela are engaged, and Ben is weeks away from graduating from the police academy. At a barbecue at James', Ben blows up the barbecue and goes flying into the bushes, killing the neighbor's dog.

Ice Cube stars as James Payton and Kevin Hart stars as Ben Barber in the film.

• Ice Cube as James Payton,[3] undercover police detective
• Kevin Hart as Ben Barber,[4] James' sister's boyfriend
• Tika Sumpter as Angela Payton,[5] James's sister and Ben's girlfriend
• John Leguizamo as Santiago,[6] a detective and Miggs' partner
• Bryan Callen as Miggs,[5] a detective and Santiago's partner
• Laurence Fishburne as Omar,[7] a boss of smugglers
• Bruce McGill as Lieutenant Brooks,[8] head of the Atlanta Police department

Additional cast includes Gary Owen as Crazy Cody,[9] Jay Pharoah as Runflat,[5] David Banner as Pawnshop Jay, Dragoș Bucur as Marko, Gary Weeks as Dr. Cowan, Jacob Latimore as Ramone and Benjamin Flores, Jr. as Morris, Runflat's brother.

On November 29, 2009, The Hollywood Reporter announced that comedian Jason Mantzoukas had been hired to write cop-buddy comedy film Ride Along for New Line Cinema, originally written by Greg Coolidge, with Ice Cube set to star in and produce the film along with Matt Alvarez, through Cube's film company, Cube Vision Productions.[3] The film was originally offered to Warner Bros., but according to Cube, the Warner executives reportedly passed down the offer because they told him that an action movie with two Black stars wouldn't sell well overseas; a studio executive claimed that the concerns about the stars were false and that the true reason for passing on Ride Along was because of script disagreements.[10] On July 11, 2012, Universal Pictures acquired the distribution rights to the film from New Line, with production starting in October, Tim Story was set to direct the film, rewritten by Matt Manfredi and Phil Hay, and produced by Will Packer and Larry Brezner.[4] On October 31, the studio announced the film would be released on January 17, 2014.[11]

A teaser trailer and an image were released on July 1, 2013.[19] On September 26, studio revealed the first teaser poster featuring Cube and Hart.[20] On November 5, eight new images from the set and the poster were revealed.[21] A second trailer of the film was revealed from studio on November 7.[22] On December 19, Universal released a full length trailer for the film.[23]

On the night of January 6, 2014, the film's first premiere was held at Atlantic Station in Atlanta.[24] On January 13, the Los Angeles premiere was held at TCL Chinese Theatre in Hollywood, California.[25] Following the two premieres, the film was released worldwide on January 17, 2014.[11]

On April 23, 2013, the studio announced that there would be a sequel to the film.[48] On February 18, 2014, it was announced that after the success of the first Ride Along film, Universal was moving forward with the sequel, which Tim Story would return to direct.[49] Ice Cube and Kevin Hart reprised their roles, with Will Packer producing, and Phil Hay and Matt Manfredi on board again as screenwriters. Ride Along 2 started filming on July 7, 2014; filming locations included Miami, Florida and Atlanta, Georgia.[50] Universal released the film on January 15, 2016.[51]

• Official website
• Ride Along at IMDb
• Ride Along at Box Office Mojo