Welcome to Re-make Mondays, a weekly feature that takes a look at a remake/reboot currently being touted to hungry cinema/TV audiences. I’ll feature the remake, and also what footage or content I can from the original, and then leave the helpless victim for you all to tear apart or cuddle up to in the comments. So, let’s get started:

I’m not even going to try jog your memories too hard regarding 21 Jump Street. It ran for five years in the late 1980s on new American network, Fox, and is basically remembered as the TV show that launched Johnny Depp’s career.

There’s Johnny

Roughly, it followed a group of young police recruits who were sent under cover into schools and other youthful hang outs where shizness was going down. Weekly formula: undercover cops infiltrate school, someone cracks the drug ring, Johnny Depp’s character gets the girl, cue some fresh hip hop (the show was often used to feature up and coming artists), roll credits.

It was basically the Pirates of the Caribbean of its time, in that despite moaning about starring in it ad infinitum, Depp couldn’t seem to keep away from it. These days you’ll find it buried on one of the series channels on DStv (just look for the channel re-running late-80s American dreck, and you’ve got it). Not convinced? Here’s some footage from the original show:

Back in 2008, then super-size Superbad star, Jonah Hill, announced he was shopping a script around Hollywood for an updated film adaptation of 21 Jump Street. The final product is set to drop early next year, featuring an oddly puffy looking Channing Tatum, and a much less puffy Jonah Hill, as the two green police recruits sent under cover into a high school to… Ugh. Well, see the original series description above.

They’ve also managed to lure Scott Pilgrim and United States of Tara alum, Brie Larson into the production, as well as Ice Cube. Parks and Recreation aficionados (hello!) will also notice Ron Effin’ Swanson makes an appearance as a police sergeant, which might turn out to be the one highlight. Here’s the trailer:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5k0mo_oJfn4

My Verdict: What you see is what you’ll get, I suspect. Tatum, as lovely as he usually looks, doesn’t quite pull off the adult-undercover-as-teen vibe that Johnny Depp managed so well back in the 1980s, while Jonah Hill, a) steals all the best material (he did write the script after all), and b) has literally quartered in size. Remarkable! Jonah Hill, I mean. Probably not the film, though what’s on display here shows off the usual Jonah Hill trademark sleazy, snippy sense of humour. It’s not Superbad, but isn’t super bad either… did you see what I did there? (Stop! Just stop. -Ed)

For more of the above, you can also see the very NSFW Red Band trailer for 21 Jump Street here (Seriously, do not watch this at work!) to tide you over until we all inevitably ignore this hot mess at the cinema and steal it from the internet.