If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. That’s clearly the mentality that the writers of Ride Along brought to the table. And I can’t blame them, given the tremendous success that buddy comedies have found in Hollywood, particularly in recent years with action-heavy team-up comedies like 21 Jump Street and 2 Guns. Luckily, there’s more to Ride Along than just a rehash of those hits.

The main draw for most will be watching Ice Cube and Kevin Hart, two talented actors with supremely different personalities, share the screen. Cube, physically imposing and still radiating the same fierce anger that made his rapping work so iconic, fits perfectly into the role of Alabama Pd Detective James Payton, a tough-as-nails cop who relishes the chance to break protocol and kick in some heads.

Similarly, Hart, famed for his manic energy and underdog rep, is well-suited for the part of Ben Barber,...