Ice Cube and Kevin Hart came together yet again to lead “Ride Along 2,” the sequel to “Ride Along,” an action-packed comedy gold-mine. Its prequel fed off the chemistry between Cube and Hart, but “Ride Along 2” came up short, to say the least.

In the sequel, as his wedding approaches, Ben Barber, played by Hart, heads to Miami with cop-buddy and future brother-in-law James (Cube) to follow up on a lead connected to a drug ring. It’s up to the partners to bring down a violent crime lord who rules Miami’s drug trade.

           “Ride Along 2” deviated little from the cliché cop-comedy plotline. Its twists and turns were already exhausted, creating a replica of the first movie with slightly worse jokes. The speed was exactly the same as the first movie, and the cop-buddy theme has been used too many times to still be considered fresh.

        Despite the change in scenery from the first movie, director Tim Story’s approach is just as lazy as the first time around. While the scenery is gorgeous, it serves only as a distraction from the fact that the plot is lacking any substance.

        Hart and Cube’s chemistry on-screen was this movie’s only saving grace. Hart’s wild hyperactivity contrasted with Cube’s surly bad-cop routine, which was funny at times, but mostly felt as though the stars were coasting by on what seemed to work for the prequel.

        Overall, “Ride Along 2” gets a D- from me. It’s never as funny as it thinks it is, and is a carbon-copy of a predecessor film that, truthfully, wasn’t even that good to begin with.