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 disc however, is lacking in almost all areas. It’s good, just not great. 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?
Once again, Fox issues a disc that is decent, but could have been so much better! The movie is presented in 2.35:1 non anamorphic widescreen, and would have benefited greatly from 16X9 enhancement or a dual layered disc. The image is good, a step up from the prequel’s disc, but is not quite great. The print looks very good, with very little grain or other signs of wear. The colors are very good, with rich tones, even the sand seems to sparkle. Black levels are also solid, with no detail loss or shadow errors. I didn’t notice any compression errors with the disc either.
Audio: How does it sound?
This is where the disc shines. The audio on Romancing The Stone was not very good, failing to capture the experience of the adventure, but this disc succeeds in that area. The surrounds are used frequently, with rich results. The movie is a much more enjoyable watch thanks to the audio. Dialogue is high grade, with no troubles surfacing.
Supplements: What are the extras?
The disc includes the theatrical trailer, and that’s all.
