Ride Along 2 Ice Cube, Kevin Hart, Olivia Munn. Directed by Tim Story. Rated PG-13. Opens Friday.

The trick to Ride Along 2 is that rookie cop Ben (Kevin Hart) must try not to be annoying all the time, and police detective James (Ice Cube) can’t look annoyed all the time. And, indeed, there are times when Hart projects some kind of humanity and Cube looks like he actually wants to be there. But they are not miracle workers. Truth be told, the funniest bits in this sequel are when Hart takes a beating, or suffers some kind of ridicule, which is probably not healthy for anyone. The plot has the future brothers-in-law heading to Miami and teaming with a detective played by Olivia Munn to catch a wealthy crime lord (Benjamin Bratt). Ken Jeong is a computer nerd who gets some funny lines, and Munn and Bratt tango at a party. But the entire production, under Tim Story’s direction, looks choppy and uneven, and the dance—along with any kind of action, or even movement—is a lazy, sloppy mess.