Movie Man Darian Watching All Night Long

Coming 2 America

This film had me feeling mixed things and I will tell you why! This film retreads the same narrative as the first film and for a lot of people they will see it as lazy writing from the screenwriters. Which to a massive extent yes it is but I also see why they did what they did. The film takes the narrative of what they did before and attempted to expand upon a few things with new characters but it ultimately falls short more then it soars. Now its biggest weakness is it’s inability to come up with a fresh narrative and bring these loveable characters into environments we haven’t seen before but it plays it too safe and it comes across as lazy and awkward. Now I did enjoy the film don’t get me wrong but their sadly is more going against it then for it. Coming 2 America arrived too late overall a film that should have been made right after the success of the first film. 

Firstly, The things I did like about the film was Eddie Murphy. Despite the poor execution of this film Eddie Murphy never fails to bring a fun performance regardless of the source material. Here he does expand upon the beloved character and brings him into some very serious places that didn’t feel cheesy or forced but actually worked in favour for the character. He is able to deliver that witty optimism while shedding new layers to the character that did bring serious depth. Eddie is definitely the highlight of this film and Arsenio Hall who delivers a charismatic and enjoyable performance but it Is the hilarious Eddie Murphy that keeps the audience captivated throughout this mediocre sequel. The last thing I liked about the film is its ability to try to deepen the source material in its tone and despite the humour at times not always landing the sheer heart of the film is felt and you can see the genuine emotion come across the screen in a very real way that does pay off. 

Secondly, What I had a massive problem is that the film for 95% of the film just rehashes the same plot of the first film and changes a few things and that’s the film. That annoyed me so much because did this film first off really need a sequel? No because it tied up nicely in the first film and the character had reached the end of his journey and that was that. Stretching it to a sequel is really reaching because since the first film tied up all characters narratives where else can you go from there and this film answers that question not far at all. Besides some character depth for Eddie Murphy’s character the film proves that it wasn’t able to come up with a plot to really make a sequel worth making as it retells the same story but with a different character this time and the original characters on the side lined for the majority of it. So that was my biggest problem with the film because every time I was enjoying it they had to put in some sort of homage to the first film it be a line or a direct scene that was similar to the first. Now I know people want that as its giving nostalgia but you can do that and also give fresh new jokes which it did not do. Overall I just wished the film delved deeper into the characters in a fresh new setting instead of using the same plot line from the previous film. 

Lastly, Coming 2 America is an enjoyable film despite all the negatives I have said. The film can still be enjoyed for the sheer fun of Eddie Murphy and his comedic genius. Now the film yes retreads the first film hugely and it is a glaring flaw but despite that I will say I still laughed and I still had fun with this ok sequel that could have been great. I recommend people check this film out if your a fan of the first or simply a huge Eddie Murphy fan.

This film centres around Prince Akeem many years later and finds out he had a son he was unaware of and runs to America to get him to bring him back to get ready to take over the Throne 

Rated PG - 13 : Crude and Sexual Content|Language|Drug Content

Eddie Murphy : Murphy delivers a dramatically sincere portrayal of the prince! Eddie Murphy always brings the goods to whatever he does and here he actually deepens the character of Akeem in the sequel. Here he plays a father now who is constantly questioning himself and its a change of pace for Akeem as last time we saw him he was giddy, optimistic and overly joyous. Now that he has aged and done many years as royalty he feels the burden of taking on the mantle of being king and the many responsibilities that come with it. He tries to show his son that he never knew he had a way to take over the throne when he passes away one day and Eddie yes brings the humour that we know and love but for most of the film it is pretty heavy handed by Murphy which went in a direction that really expanded the character instead of him just repeating the funny antics of the first film he digs deeper into Akeem. Which I loved as you can see the serious look in his eyes and the sheer impact of his words are felt in genuine emotionally felt scenes that feel authentic. On top of the very well presented dramatic moments given by Murphy he also evens it out with the comedy so we get a mix of both and his comedic timing is always spot on and here he brings a complex performance of Akeem. One that is matured and aged and has learned things over the years with some toughness on his eyes and heart but still has that spirit of what we fell in love with from the first film. Murphy delivers a dramatic heavy turn as Akeem that surprisingly packs an emotional punch while still giving us the great comedic wit all at once. 

Craig Brewer : Brewer gives okay direction here! This man impressed the hell out of me back in 2019 when he did Dolemite is my name and that is not just a good film that is a great film. So you could understand why I would be excited for this because he proved once he can direct Eddie beautifully onscreen and so him taking on one of Murphys most beloved characters what could go wrong? Apparently a lot as what I didn’t like about the approach he took was that it was basically a rehash of the first film with some things tweaked. Now I will say he did try his best to make it work as you can feel the heart in the film as he put a ton of passion into the project and there are some moments of great humour and fantastic depth for its characters. That being said most of the jokes did feel awkward and that it was just a huge nostalgic trip with nothing new to offer which sadly is the result but if the screenwriting made some big changes and toned down the references to the first film it could of shaped up to be a better film. Instead it was just okay and that is what I will say for Craig Brewer his direction wasn’t great but it was just okay and Craig I know you can do better then this I have seen it overall ok direction from Craig.