This belated sequel may be fairly predictable plot-wise, but there’s much fun to be had if you settle into the heightened sense of humour, and the cast’s obvious joy when making the film shines through.

Premise: The dying King Jaffe (James Earl Jones) is concerned that when Prince Akeem (Eddie Murphy) is crowned king, his lack of a male heir will leave the kingdom of Zamunda vulnerable to attack from General Izzi (Wesley Snipes) of Nextdoria. But a shaman reveals that Prince Akeem unknowingly sired a son when he and Semmi (Arsenio Hall) visited New York 30 years ago, and so Akeem returns to Queens to find his illegitimate son (Jermaine Fowler).

Review:

First off, I have to confess that the original Coming to America sort of passed me by back in 1988. At the time, if I was going to watch an Eddie Murphy film, I was far more likely to watch Beverley Hills Cop, Trading Places, 48 Hrs or even (don’t judge me) The Golden Child, than I was Coming to America. The reason I’m mentioning this, is that I don’t think Coming 2 America relies too heavily on nostalgia for its appeal – I didn’t come to this sequel with any pre-conditioned affection for the characters or storyline, and I still really enjoyed it.

Coming 2 America (terribly confusing title aside) stands on its own two feet as an enjoyable comedy, even if you’ve only a passing knowledge of the original film. Of course, if you are a fan of the original, you’ll be happy to know that almost the entire cast of the first film are back in the sequel. Some are little more than cameos, some have more substantial roles to play, but James Earl Jones, John Amos, Shari Headley and others are all back from the original film.

“…the country of Zamunda is practically a character itself…”

However, this sequel is (perhaps surprisingly) far more than a simple rehash of the original. Despite the title, the vast majority of the film takes place in the fictional African country of Zamunda, and there are only a handful of scenes that are set in America. I have to confess, this surprised me (in a good way), as I’d expected the sequel to re-tread a lot of the fish-out-of-water/cultural-clash notes from the original film. I guess you could say it does if you were feeling particularly cynical, but this time it’s from the perspective of the American characters visiting Zamunda, rather than the other way around.

The country of Zamunda is practically a character itself in Coming 2 America, and it plays a major role in setting the tone of the film. The shadow of Wakanda from Black Panther looms large over Zamunda, but it’s great to see Zamunda depicted as such a vibrant and thriving African culture, with the costume design in this film being particularly worthy of recognition. The (brilliantly named) next door country of Nextdoria could have fallen into clichés with its warmongering militaristic society, but instead a brilliantly cast Wesley Snipes portrays General Izzi through the medium of dance – instead of storming the palace with guns blazing, he and his dance troupe threaten Prince Akeem with a carefully choreographed dance routine.

“…the joy that went into making the film is clear for everyone to see…”

This is a good example of the comedic tone that the film strikes – while it is fairly grounded in terms of the comedy derived from the characters’ development, it is nevertheless heightened, whether that be in relation to dancing warlords or “princely trials” that require a candidate to cut the whiskers from a wild lion. But there are plenty of moments that made me laugh, and the joy that went into making the film is clear for everyone to see. As well as the appearances from most of the cast from the first film, there are also several surprise cameos (which I won’t spoil), all of which put a big “OMG-it’s-such-and-such” smile on my face.

Speaking of the cast, the new cast members are all really good. Jermaine Fowler plays Prince Akeem’s illegitimate son, Lavelle, and in many ways, he’s really the star of the film. He has charisma to spare even before the main storyline kicks off (he has a great introductory scene which includes a subtle reference back to Trading Places), and he fulfils a similar role to that filled by Prince Akeem in the original film. Leslie Jones and Tracy Morgan appear as Lavelle’s mother and uncle, and are able to shine in their scenes but without stealing the focus from the main characters. Meanwhile, in terms of new Zamundan characters, the one who makes the most impact is KiKi Layne as Princess Meeka, Prince Akeem’s eldest daughter. After making an impression in The Old Guard last year, KiKi Layne brings interesting layers to Princess Meeka in this film, who is understandably resentful and suspicious of her newly discovered brother and his apparent claim to the throne. And let’s not brush over the fact that, even today, it’s still a rarity for a “mainstream” film to have an all Black cast like Coming 2 America does.

“…Eddie Murphy is the best thing in this film, & the biggest surprise…”

But what of Eddie Murphy himself (and how have I got this far through the review before mentioning him)? Well, in many ways, he is the best thing in this film, and the element that surprised me the most. I was expecting Coming 2 America to essentially be a rehash of Coming to America, and similarly, I expected Eddie Murphy to be doing another re-tread of his wisecracking comedy persona. But Coming 2 America is actually more daring than that – yes, Eddie Murphy is still very funny and gets plenty of great comedic moments, but Prince Akeem himself is (it could be argued) actually the film’s real antagonist. While there are other external threats (personified by Wesley Snipe’s General Izzi), it’s Akeem’s struggles to live up to the expectations of his father that create most of the film’s obstacles.

Overall, the plot to Coming 2 America is both all over the place (different threads are dropped and picked up throughout the film) and very predictable (you can probably guess where all of the characters are going to end up by the halfway point) – but you don’t necessary come to a comedy expecting massive narrative twists. There’s an infectious energy that’s gone into the making of this film, and it shines through (right down to the old school outtakes reel shown during the end credits). Is it a comedy masterpiece? Certainly not. But is it a fun, good natured and amusing way to spend a couple of hours? Absolutely.