Set in the lush and royal country of
Zamunda, newly-crowned King Akeem (Eddie Murphy) and his trusted confidante
Semmi (Arsenio Hall) embark on an all-new hilarious adventure that has them
traversing the globe from their great African nation to the borough of Queens, New York - where it all began.
Director: Craig Brewer
Cast: Eddie Murphy, Arsenio Hall, Jermaine
Fowler, Leslie Jones, Tracy Morgan, KiKi Layne, Shari Headley, Teyana Taylor, Wesley Snipes, James Earl Jones
Release Date: December 18, 2020
Genre: Comedy
Rated PG-13 for crude and sexual content,
language and drug content
Runtime: 1 h 50 min
Review:
Coming 2 America feels like many of recent unnecessary sequels to
beloved classics in that it offers fun bits of nostalgia but never reaches the
level of the original. Craig Brewer’s
film fits some familiar beats which will leave fans of the original happy but
some maybe surprised to find that much of the film takes place in Zamunda and
the story’s mainly focused on Jermaine Fowler’s character. The story flips the script of the original by
making the Folwer the outsider; it’s a decent if uninspired take. Folwer is capable enough but he’s hardly on
the same comedic talent level of Eddie Murphy or Arsenio Hall. The latter do have plenty of chances to shine
and they make great use of their screen time in revisiting their classic
characters. The supporting cast is
filled with familiar faces with Wesley Snipes clearly having a ball playing
General Izzi. Ultimately, Coming 2
America is a fun little bit of comedic comfort food even if it’ll never touch
the originals quality.
C+
