Reviewed by Johnny McNair

 

Fox Home Entertainment – 106 mins – 1995 – Rated PG – 1080p Widescreen 2.35: 1 – DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio

 

 

After Romancing the Stone was a big hit in 1984, there was no doubt a sequel would be in the works, but no one expected it to be so fast. Instead of the normal two to three year wait, a second movie was pushed out one year later in 1985. Unfortunately, the rush to theaters wasn’t worth it, because everything that made Romancing the Stone fresh and fun didn’t make it into the sequel. But for those of you who desire to see what happened to Jack and Joan, Jewel of the Nile is available on Blu-ray from Fox Home Entertainment.

 

THE MOVIE

 

For their second adventure Jack T. Colton (Michael Douglas) and Joan Wilder (Kathleen Turner), are still romancing the stone, but as expected something goes wrong. Joan travels by herself to North Africa to write the biography a mystery man named Omar (Spiros Focas) who says he is about the become the Emperor, and is giving her to opportunity to tell his story. Quickly Joan learns she’s been duped and is sucked into a plot by a group of lethal radicals who are searching for the precious Jewel of the Nile, and they hold her captive. Back in the states, Jack has his own issues as he learns that Ralph (Danny DeVito) the bumbling hood from the first film is trying to get revenge on him for taking the fortune he believes he’s entitled to. Learning that Joan is in deep danger, he and Ralph team up and rush off to Africa. Jack goal is to save Joan and Ralph’s goal as usual is to find fortune and glory.

 

Jewel of the Nile is a perfect example of messing up a good thing, sort of like Porky’s 2: The Next Day. First the two key players who made the first film’s magic are not involved; director Robert Zemeckis and writer Diane Thomas (who tragically died in a car accident) have been replaced, and everything looks so rushed that it shows up on screen. Jokes that seemed natural in the first film are now forced and the action tries to outdo everything you seen in the original, but is not as satisfying.

 

Overall, Jewel of the Nile is not a disaster; it just needed more time to cook in the kitchen before being rushed onto the plate. Director Lewis Teague tries to hold things togther, but there are so many cracks that things get messy. Audiences didn’t hang on as long as they did for the original film, killing all hopes of a third adventure, which was planned. Instead the trio of Douglas, DeVito, and Turner re-teamed in the 1989 black comedy The War of the Roses. Jewel of the Nile is worth a look just for the hell of it, but if you really loved the first film you will definitely feel let down.

 

VIDEO

 

Romancing the stone looked great on Blu-ray, but Jewel of the Nile seems dull by comparison. Offering a full 1080p picture in a 2.35:1 frame, the film provides decent flesh tones but the colors are not as bright and strong as you would expect. Grain is heavy on this transfer, and more effort could have been made to clean up the image. Though the image quality is better than the previous DVD release, the leap is not that high.

 

AUDIO

 

Just like Romancing the Stone, the audio quality for Jewel of the Nile is disappointing. Though it provides a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 sound mix, none of this is fully taken of advantage of, so there are points particularly during action scenes such as the jet fighter sequence when things sound over modulated. Dialogue is clear and the music score by Jack Nitzsche sounds fine, but overall there’s nothing here that will make you want to crank up your speakers.

 

EXTRAS

 

The same bonus features from the DVD have been carried over to the Blu-ray, so if you’re interested in upgrading, you’ll get the same package.

 

Director Lewis Teague provides an audio commentary track that goes into his experience of making the film, and the pressure of delivering a sequel to a successful film.

 

Romancing the Nile: A Winning Sequel runs about twenty minutes and features interviews with the cast and crew. This is your basic behind the scenes stuff that you’ll watch once and it’s done.

 

Adventures of a Romance Novelist looks at the insertion of romance and adventure in the life of the fiction writer Joan Wilder.

 

Six deleted scenes are included, but there’s nothing that holds your attention.

 

Finally, the film’s original theatrical trailer is included, but unfortunately only in standard definition.

 

BOTTOM LINE

 

Jewel of the Nile definitely lacks the charm of Romancing the Stone, but it is entertaining in spots, and may satisfy those who just want to see Douglas and Turner on screen together again. The blu-ray itself is basic offering a standard picture and sound, but nothing that will make you want to place it high on your shelf. If you’re a collector who must own the sequels to every good film no matter what, then this one is for you. All others should rent it first to see if it’s worth buying.

 

SCORES: (Out of 5):

 

The Movie: 2.5

Video: 3.0

Sound: 3.0

Extras: 3.0

Bottom Line: 3.0