Plot
Undercover detective James Payton is on a falsifying passports operation run by "Omar". After a shootout with the smugglers, his lieutenant tells him to drop the case, which he does not.
Ben Barber, a jumpy, short high school security guard who plays video games in his spare time, applies to the Atlanta City Police Academy. He asks James for his blessing to marry his sister, Angela. He insists Ben first go on a "ride along" to prove he is worthy of her. If successful, he will recommend him for the academy, and give his blessing.
Taking Ben to the station, James asks dispatch to give him all the 1-26s that are called in, which he has Ben take care of. Questioning the informant Runflat, James uncovers the connection between Serbia and "Omar" and hears a shipment will come in that evening. Leaving the park, James takes Ben to the local shooting range and finds out that Zastava M92's have been given to the store. When a 1-26 is called in, Ben and James go to the Sweet Auburn Curb Market, where drunken 'Crazy Cody' is being disorderly. Ben is unable to subdue him, so James arrests him.
Ben asks to be taken home before Angela's call. He tells her about his stressful day, and she tells him Crazy Cody is James' poker buddy, and that 1-26s are code for annoying situations for newbies as a joke. Seeing Cody laughing with James, Santiago and Miggs at the police station, the upset Ben refuses to go home. He instead takes a 1-26 for a disturbance at a strip club. There, two men get into a Mexican standoff with James and Ben. Believing it’s another joke call, Ben fools around. James subdues them, then they are tipped off about a gun deal with Omar's men. Ben confronts James about the 1-26s.
James receives a call from Santiago in the car, who says Runflat has turned himself in. Ben says Runflat's brother told him in the park Runflat had just got out of prison, news to James so, another clue. They talk to Runflat's other brother, J, to get the location of the gun deal. During the conversation, Ben accidentally shoots J, who reveals the deal's time and place.
Deciding to infiltrate the warehouse with Santiago and Miggs, James leaves Ben in the car. They betray him, turning out to be crooked cops working for Omar. James is then tied up, which Ben sees. Santiago mocks and criticizes James for being unsociable and egocentric. As the deal begins, Ben pretends to be Omar (as no one has ever seen the real Omar).
Successfully fooling them, Ben wreaks havoc at the deal. Just as he is about to leave with James, the real Omar appears. A shootout ensues, and many of Omar's men are killed. Ben shows his sharp reflexes and knowledge of battle (thanks to his gaming). James and Ben take the money from the deal and escape before the warehouse explodes. Unbeknownst to them, Santiago, Miggs and Omar escape.
Santiago and Miggs arrive at Angela's, tying her up. As she was playing one of Ben's interactive games, Ben's fellow gamers hear the confrontation through Ben's headset. At the hospital, being treated for a gunshot wound in the leg, Ben receives a call from a gamer, who tells James something's going on at the apartment. After seeing some cops arriving at the hospital, James and Ben sneak out to Angela's with Omar's money.
James injures Miggs, before fighting with Santiago. As Santiago is about to shoot him, Angela knocks him out. Ben gets knocked out by Omar in a fight, who then takes the bag of money and Angela, and leaves. James follows them, confronting Omar. Just as Omar is about to shoot him, Ben slides over a car and kicks him. James shoots Omar twice, injuring him. Police arrest Omar, Miggs, and Santiago, and James finally gives Ben his blessing.
In a mid-credits scene, Ben and Angela are engaged, and Ben is weeks away from graduating from the police academy. At a barbecue at James's, Ben blows up the barbecue, flying into the bushes and killing the neighbor's dog.
