Coming 2 America
“It is not fair for me to blame you for my father’s mistake. Not that you are a mistake. Well, you kind of are a mistake.”
Summary:
Coming 2 America follows the story of Akeem 30 years after the plot of the first movie. Now, Akeem is King after the passing of his father. With a new external threat from General Izzi, Akeem is now stuck between a rock and a hard place. With no male heir, it seems that Akeem must marry off his daughter to preserve peace in his country. However, from the family seer, Akeem discovers that he has a son in America. He rushes back to find his illegitimate son and brings him back to raise him as a prince.
Characters:
Akeem returns as the newly crowned King of Zamunda. Akeem is a generous, kind, loving man who tries his hardest to do what’s right for his family and his kingdom. He struggles at points trying to find complicated answers when simple ones are right in front of him but he remains a good man that the audience will continue to like. Lavelle Junson is Akeem’s illegitimate son from before he met Lisa who still lives in Queen’s trying to make ends meet. After coming to Zamunda he tries to fit in but he has a strong personality that seeps through. He is an intelligent and cunning man who tries to find his way in his father’s shadow.
Nathanyal: 9.0/10
Coming 2 America is a nice sequel to the first movie. Overall, it was a fun watch, with good comedy scenes as the first movie. Since this movie is a sequel, some jokes don’t hit as much the second time and there are some elements that are predictable.
The main gripe I have with this movie is the progression of the plot. There were a lot of slow scenes and it wasn’t as entertaining as the first movie. There were some comedic scenes, however, this movie has a more serious tone. When the movie switches tones like that, it lost some of my attention.
There were a lot of good points about this movie. For one, the characters, both returning and new, were all loveable and fun to watch. I loved watching the interactions between Akeem and Lisa with Mary and Lavelle. I also enjoyed the interactions between Semmi and Uncle Reem. Besides the characters, I enjoyed the plot and how it paralleled the first movie. They had the same core theme but were approached in slightly different ways. I also really appreciated the references throughout the movie and all the returning actors.
Overall, this movie was solid. It had its comedic points, loveable characters, and great references. Although it might not have been as funny as the first, it was still enjoyable to watch.
Sebastian: 8.5/10
I liked this movie and thought that it was a pretty solid sequel to the original film.
While I say that I do still feel the original was funnier and a better movie but I still feel this movie had enough for me to enjoy. As I had taken the time to re-watch the original Coming to America before watching the sequel, I did really appreciate the references and callbacks to the original film as they were mostly funny and some were clever. I assume most people want to see this movie to see Eddie Murphy back in one of his most famous roles and he shines playing Akeem with many funny moments and also many heartfelt moments as well. The pairing of Eddie Murphy and Arsenio Hall were really the comedic centre of the original film and they definitely both have their moments though Hall has a lesser role than I expected. All the returning cast and characters were great too though less utilized especially with the character of Lisa played by Shari Headly who I felt just didn’t get a lot to do. The new characters were pretty good for the most part if slightly underdeveloped but Lavelle, Meeka, and General Izzi were all pretty good. Lavelle ( played by Jermaine Fowler) brings that fish out of water element that worked well in the first film and still works well here, Meeka ( played by Kiki Layne) brings the connection to Akeem and that strong presence of a leader and General Izzi ( played by Wesley Snipes) brings a comedic antagonist for our protagonists to butt heads with and each actor does a really good job with their roles. I would say in general this film is less comedic in its approach and focus more on the heartfelt side which for the most part works for the story though I would’ve enjoyed more jokes. With saying that in general, the film is definitely more “all ages” than the original with the jokes having a little less edge to them.
All in all, this was a good movie that doesn’t surpass the first but I’m glad I watched with some great comedic talents and some heartfelt moments that I would recommend to anyone looking for a new comedy and also fans of the original. So hop on Prime Video and check it out!
Austin: 8.2/10
Coming 2 America was a decent sequel to a great movie, but it isn’t anywhere near as good as the first one. It is a very similar movie to the first one, with solid comedy and an okay plot. I didn’t find it as funny as the first movie, but some of the connections with the original were great.
This movie follows a pretty similar plotline to the original movie, but it doesn’t do as good a job of diving into the plot. The first movie used the plot to create a lot of situational irony, and some pretty hilarious moments. Now we still have quite a few funny moments, the plot is a lot weaker in this movie and it is really slow. The comedy isn’t strong enough to cover for the really slow pacing, and it leaves you feeling bored at points.
Eddie Murphy and Arsenio Hall are great in this movie, but they take a slightly smaller role. I really enjoyed the way Jermaine Fowler had a larger role, with most of the focus on him. He did a good job of handling the arc of his character, but I would have loved to see a few more scenes between Eddie Murphy and Jermaine. The encounters we get are hilarious, but they aren’t as frequent as I would have liked.
Character development and the new characters are really good, just as they were in the first movie. I was impressed that Eddie’s character continues to develop after he is faced with new roles because it adds a secondary story to the main events. The only character-related piece I didn’t like was the fact that Arsenio was nowhere near as involved as in the first movie. The duo of Eddie and Arsenio made the first movie awesome and very funny, and the lack of the duo really stole from the movie’s dynamic.
I loved the first one, enjoyed this one, but I expected more. The connections back to the first movie were great, but the slow pacing and lack of comedic material made it feel longer than it was. If you are looking for a funny movie, this wouldn’t be my first pick, but if you enjoyed the original one 30 years ago this is worth a try.
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