21 Jump Street: the movie cannot measure up to the series

This is one of those times when I wonder "What were they thinking?", and it resounds so loud inside my mind is no longer a question but something else. Really if the producers of this 21 Jump Street remake wanted another teen movie I don't understand why they chose such a cool series to base their fiasco on. The movie has a comedic tone, that even becomes grotesque at times, and thus diverts from the more serious tone the original series had. Unbelievably it happens in the continuity of the series and tells the story of Morton Schmidt (Jonah Hill) and Greg Jenko (Channing Tatum) former classmates who end up becoming police officers that for their youthful appearance are sent to a special division to work undercover as high school students and to investigate crimes being committed in those educational centers. After messing up the situation with their clumsy efforts to discover the mysterious supplier of a new drug, Schmidt and Jenko finally find out who the criminal is: none other than one of the teachers. Wow, what a turn of events! And then somehow there's an unnecessary and forced happy ending down the line. Still there's a moment I liked and that was when two of the criminals associated to the teacher-turned-drug dealer reveal themselves as DEA Agents Tom Hanson (Johnny Depp) and Doug Penhall (Peter DeLuise), who were members of the Jump Street program when it began. Yep, none other than Johnny Depp was the star of the 21 Jump Street series and basically that was his lucky break in the acting business. His departure from the series was never accurately explained and it left me puzzled back then. In the movie, both Hanson and Penhall get killed after revealing their identities. Also before dying these two characters share some lines that were more inspired than any of the other dialog lines said in the rest of the movie. This moment somehow provides that much needed aftermath the series never had and left me happy to know the final destiny of those two wonderful guys; a scene to remember (the only one in the movie, though).

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