Plot: What’s it about?
Joan Wilder (Kathleen Turner) and Jack Colton (Michael Douglas) are still together, currently enjoying a cruise, rather sail, around the world. Joan is still writing those romance tales, but seems to be out of material. She’s hard pressed for some fresh ideas, on the verge of giving up, when she’s offered a different writing gig. Joan is approached by Omar, a dictator who has a bad image thanks to the American press. Omar wants Wilder to pen a biography of him, detailing his good aspects, leaving out the bad. What Wilder does not know is that Omar is a brutal leader, and she leaves Colton behind to travel to Egypt and write this book. Alone, Colton prepares to return to the boat, when he is greeted by Ralph (Danny Devito), the bumbling kidnapper/theif we all know and love. Ralph is fresh out of the clink and looking for revenge on Colton, but while he and Jack are arguing, Colton’s boat explodes! Soon however, after a handsome offer from an Egyptian, Jack and Ralph form a shaky union, formed to go inside Omar’s palace to retrieve a precious jewel. The jewel is no ordinary jewel though, it’s The Jewel Of The Nile, the prize of the Egyptian people, which Omar stole from them. So, this unlikely pair heads off, to rescue Joan and return the jewel to it’s rightful owner.
The Jewel Of The Nile is the sequel to the huge hit Romancing The Stone, and as such, follows the same blueprint as the first, adventure, romance, and comedy. While the first movie focused on Joan and Jack, this adventure is a three person show, with Ralph getting much more screen time. This was a wise move, as we get to see more of the hilarious interaction between Jack and Ralph. I favor this movie’s three lead setup, even though it cuts the romance level down a little. The Jewel Of The Nile also contains more stunt segments, which were some of the high points of the first film. Another welcome addition, the increased stunt portions add more adventure to the film, which adds tension and excitement. Just like it’s prequel, The Jewel Of The Nile is a great adventure movie, which genre fans will not want to miss. The original disc was bare bones, but the second time around, Fox has taken care of that oversight. In addition to a new anamorphic presentation, you’ll also find some cool supplements, so fans will love this new Special Edition. The movie is a lot of fun and with a new deluxe treatment, The Jewel of the Nile is more recommended than ever.
The cast of The Jewel Of The Nile is basically the same as that of Romancing The Stone, with all three major actors returning. Michael Douglas (The Ghost And The Darkness, The War Of The Roses) seems more in character here, which is to be expected I suppose. We see more of his tough side in this movie, which is very cool. Danny Devito (Throw Momma From The Train, Other People’s Money) is excellent, I’m very glad his role was expanded upon, because his screen time is some of the best in this movie. Kathleen Turner (Peggy Sue Got Married, The Man With Two Brains) gives the same solid performance as she did in the first film, which is not a bad thing at all. The supporting cast is minimal, with most of the film revolving around how these three interact. The Jewel Of The Nile was directed by Lewis Teague, who also directed Cat’s Eye and Cujo among other films.
Video: How does it look?
The Jewel of the Nile is presented in 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen. I was pleased to see Fox has given us a new treatment for this new edition and this time, the transfer is anamorphic. At the time, the previous transfer didn’t look too bad, but it was obvious there was room for improvement. The print looks just as good this time, with minimal grain and debris, which is impressive. You can tell there was no restoration work done, but all in all, the print looks more than solid. And just as before, I found colors to be bright and contrast to be smooth, so no complaints in those areas. Where this new treatment surpasses the old is depth and detail, as this is a crisper, more refined overall image. Not a massive difference, but you will be able to tell and this new transfer is enough of an improvement to warrant an upgrade, in my opinion.
Audio: How does it sound?
This is the same 4.0 surround option as before, but that’s no problem, as the audio performance is solid and never disappoints. This is an adventure picture, so there is ample opportunities for the surrounds to work and so you’ll notice a lot of activity. This is just 4.0, not 5.1 or beyond however, so don’t expect too much, but overall, this soundtrack provides good presence and power. The music also comes through well, while dialogue is clean and never muffled in the least. This disc also includes French and Spanish language tracks, as well as subtitles in English and Spanish.
Supplements: What are the extras?
The main draw here is Lewis Teague’s director’s commentary, in which he looks back on the production and shares his memories. While Teague offers a solid session, so much time has passed since the movie was made, the details aren’t as fresh in his memory bank. Even so, he recalls enough to make the track worth a listen, though there is a fair amount of silence and narration involved. This disc also includes some deleted scenes, as well as not one, but two featurettes.
