Freeview film of the day: 21 Jump Street

21 Jump Street ★★★★
10.00-12.10am 5STAR

We never saw the original youthful TV series 21 Jump Street in the late 1980s and early 90s, but the belated action-comedy movie spin-offs are irresistible. With a third confirmed, this is the first. Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs tag-team Phil Lord and Chris Miller direct Channing Tatum and Jonah Hill as the jock/nerd friends who on graduation from police academy are assigned by boss Ice Cube to an undercover job at a high school – there to sniff out a new and dangerous drug. Passing, miraculously, as students, their chemistry is strong and their antics provide endless, simple-minded fun, such as taking the drug itself while on the running track. Johnny Depp, made famous by the TV show, gives a sporting cameo.