Comedy takes a front seat as Dax Shepard and Michael Peña take on the roles of Jon Baker and Ponch respectively. The roles were made famous by Erik Estrada and Larry Wilcox in the original show, a crime drama with a dash of humour. The film also looks big on action.
The show, which ran for six years from 1977 to 1983, revolved around the exploits of the two California Highway Patrol officers. This time around, the plot reboots the story to make Ponch an undercover FBI agent who’s paired up with new recruit Baker, a retired X-Games biker. Ponch is tasked with the job of rooting out some crooked cops.
A mismatched-cops buddy comedy, the film looks to be a nod to similar films of the 1990s, with Dax Shepard comparing it to Bad Boys. It’s also not unlike the more recent 21 Jump Street, which makes you wonder if Dax Shepard is hoping he’s got a successful franchise on his hands.
Shepard wrote and directed the film which also stars real-life wife Kristen Bell. Bell appears in the trailer only fleetingly, which is a shame. It would have been good to see if the sizzling on-screen chemistry the pair displayed in 2012 comedy Hit and Run is still there.
The film also features Adam Brody, Maya Rudolph and Vincent D’Onofrio.
CHiPs is released in the US and the UK on March 24.