Like “Zoolander 2,” “Blues Brother 2000” and “Independence Day: Resurgence” before it, “Coming 2 America” revisits a classic movie with a failed sequel that took way too long to come out.
Eddie Murphy rediscovered some of his old magic with director Craig Brewer with Netflix’s “Dolemite Is My Name” in 2019, but
their teaming on “Coming 2 America” (★★ out of four; rated PG-13; streaming on Amazon Prime Friday) is a much more disappointing outing. While the excellent 1988 original still holds up as both raucous romantic comedy and Black fairy tale – as well as a multifaceted showcase for Murphy and co-star Arsenio Hall – the follow-up is a toothless, fleetingly funny revisit with some moments of greatness yet too much of the same old story to feel fresh.
Coming 2 America Drops One Day Early
Natalie Oganesyan, provided by
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“Coming 2 America,” the long-awaited sequel to Eddie Murphy’s 1988 “Coming to America,” has released early on Amazon Prime. Originally, the pic was set to drop on the streaming service on Friday.
The sequel to John Landis’ hit comedy follows Prince Akeem (Murphy), who is set to become the king of the fictional country of Zamunda, an African kingdom untouched by colonialism, and finds out he has a son he never knew about a street-savvy Queens native, Lavelle. To honor the former king’s (James Earl Jones) dying wish to raise his grandson as the crown prince, Akeem, and Semmi (Arsenio Hall), once again leave for America. The star-studded cast also includes Leslie Jones, Wesley Snipes and Shari Headley.
Coming 2 America star and critically acclaimed actor
, Rotimi, teamed up with Crown Royal for a Royal Cuts content series ahead of the release of the film. The highly anticipated sequel to the 1988 classic Coming 2 America is finally here. Many new faces will be spotted on-camera and we had a chance to speak with one of those stars.
Starring Eddie Murphy and Arsenio Hall, will drop on amazon streaming service at midnight on Friday, but fans can now watch it starting Thursday. The sequel is set in the fictional African country of Zamunda, where Prince Akeem (Murphy) was recently crowned the king.He finds out he has a son he never knew about â a young man named Lavelle, whose mother is Mary Junson, played by âSNLâ alum Leslie Jones. Akeem and his best friend, Semmi (Hall), then embark on another adventure to America in search of his long lost son. They end up in Queens, New York, where the pair had traveled to more than 30 years ago to find Akeem a wife.
Movie review: Eddie Murphy strikes while the iron is very, very cold in Coming 2 America Sequel to 1988 box-office hit tries to recapture the energy with similar casts, but the laughs are few and far between
Author of the article: Chris Knight
Publishing date: Mar 05, 2021 • March 5, 2021 • 3 minute read • On the road again: Arsenio Hall (left) and Eddie Murphy in Coming 2 America. Photo by Quantrell D. Colbert / Amazon
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There were, broadly speaking, two schools of thought when it came to sequels in the 1980s. There was the as-many-as-possible mode, which famously saw six