The Jewel of the Nile

Watch this movie as a precious relic of a time of freedom as you can see things that would be totally censored in today American movies! In a way, this movie is really close to early Tintin comics as it's pure fun in exotic places and for sure fun means native depicted as Clichés! So here Arabs and Africans are viewed as primitive, a bunch of tribes or peasants, Muslim rebels fighters are helpful and wise! It's hard to judge it against the Zemeckis movie because the setting is totally different: the first was jungle, green, water while now it's desert, sand, sun! I find that the trio has a real chemistry together, there is really some funny moments and if the movie drags a bit at the end, i had a pleasant watching!

I have given this movie a 7/10 because, taken on its own merits, it is just a delightful movie to watch. It's funny, although the slapstick sometimes is a little over done; but good wins out over evil, and leaves you satisfied at its conclusion. It reminds me of the "On the Road" movies made by Bob Hope, Bing Crosby, and Dorothy Lamour during the forties, but with better, if not sometimes outlandish, special effects and chases (e.g., the F-16 chase) and just as many, if not more, one liners.

However, the movie is more than just comedy. It pits secular evil against a spiritual goodness (the Jewel), albeit a spiritual goodness which on the surface seem naive and comic...but which, in reality, achieves its goals through that apparent naivty. That is a serious overtone which many of the previous comments on the movie seem to have overlooked. The Jewel does not perform miracles, but his presence and comic actions create an aura of the miraculous.

"The Jewel of the Nile" is a follow-up to "Romancing the Stone". It lacks the greatness of the original but it keeps the same spirit. This one has lots of adventure and action (even more than the original, and is also far more violent).

Robert Zemeckis didn't return to direct this one, but 4 of the same actors reprise their roles: Michael Douglas (who also produced it), Kathleen Turner, Danny DeVito and Holland Taylor. The rest of the cast is entirely different. There are plenty of new characters and new villains.

As the title says, this movie takes us not to Colombia again, but to the Egyptian deserts (in Africa, close to the Nile river). Exotic like the original's but a completely different scenario than the original's.

The main villain in this is Omar Khalifa (well portrayed by Spiros Focás). He is just as treacherous and dangerous as Zolo from the original film. Like Zolo, he fools Joan Wilder so that she falls in his entrapments. He pretends to be a good person, but he's a brutal dictator. But I do like Omar's Egyptian accent. He speaks with a charming accent. Funny that he plays an Egyptian when the actor is Greek, but then, Demis Roussos is a Greek who was born in Egypt.

Avner Eisenberg does a nice portrayal of The Jewel but the character has a mix of charm and silliness and isn't always lovable.

This film has some really funny and great sequences, but also has a large number of faults and does not possess the charm of the original. Therefore, it doesn't match the original's greatness.

Apparently Michael and Kathleen only made this movie because their contract forced them to. Kathleen even attempted to back it out but was threatened by 20th Century Fox to be sued with a $25 million lawsuit. Geez, that is just so wrong! They shouldn't have been forced to do something they didn't want. I sort of can see why they didn't want to do it and why Robert Zemeckis refused to make the sequel.

I used to like this movie almost as much as the original. But now it doesn't seem that great to me anymore. Looking at it now, many things about it don't make much sense. The original is a great blockbuster and a timeless classic.

As much i have enjoyed the chemistry of this cast in Romancing and War Of The Roses i felt that even that strong bond could not save Jewel Of The Nile from being a dud of a film.The first film had a much stronger Indiana Jones type feel to it,Douglas and Turner hit it off superbly and although that continues to some extent here,its mainly a tired retread that isn't quite as much fun,partly due to the barren desert setting as opposed to the lively mud slides and tropical setting of the first film.The finale of the film is also not a satisfying as the first film and one is left to ponder what was the point of it all.Its a below average action adventure film that relies too heavily on the chemistry of its actors to salvage some credit.

In the sequel to 'Romancing the Stone', romance writer Joan Wilder (Kathleen Turner) and Jack Colton (Michael Douglas) are sailing their yacht in the south of France. Joan is frustrated with her writing and sick of their nomadic life after six months on the boat. Joan accepts Sheik Omar Kalifa's offer to go down the Nile and write his biography. Joan and Jack agree to go their separate ways. Ralph (Danny DeVito) seeks revenge against Jack for getting left in prison. They are met by Tarak who has just tried to assassinate Omar. He tells them that Omar is a ruthless dictator who has stolen the Jewel of the Nile. Omar blows up Jack's boat and Tarak warns him that Joan is in danger.

I love 'Romancing the Stone'. This sequel has lost the original's charm. It's stupider and less funny. The joy is mostly gone. Jack and Joan start off on a sour note and is mostly separated in the first half. There are flashes of the old chemistry for the couple. However, even that isn't enough to make this a good movie. It's a sad sequel to a great 80s movie.