15 Unexpectedly Awesome 2014 Movies Everyone Thought Would Suck

4. 22 Jump Street

Why It Should Have Sucked: 2012's 21 Jump Street did well enough to be a major critical and commercial success against terrible odds, but to try for a sequel that has pretty much the same premise, substituting high school for college? It reeks of lazy sequel syndrome through and through. Why It Was Awesome: Possibly the most meta, self-aware movie sequel ever made (even more so than the Scream sequels), 22 Jump Street completely draws attention to how lazy a follow-up it is on the surface, and in commenting so viciously on how bad most sequels are, manages to make itself worthwhile. With Hollywood wunderkinds Phil Lord and Chris Miller at the helm, the gag-rate is again insanely high, while Channing Tatum and Jonah Hill's bromantic chemistry continues to prove wonderfully winning. Ice Cube very nearly steals the movie at several points, though, particularly pertaining to one outrageously entertaining twist half-way through the story. In addition to the mind-blowing number of pop-culture references and meta gags, 22 Jump Street also boasts what is probably the best end credits sequence of all time, a slideshow of various potential Jump Street sequels, spin-off products and video games. Genius.