Though 1988’s Coming to America became a pretty decent hit, it failed to produce a sequel – well, for a very long time, at least. 2021 finally brought a second chapter via the awkwardly-titled Coming 2 America.

In his native African land of Zamunda, Prince Akeem (Eddie Murphy) leads a contented life with his long-time American wife Lisa (Shari Headley), old pal Semmi (Arsenio Hall) and daughters Meeka (Kiki Layne), Omma (Bella Murphy) and Tinashe (Akiley Love). He ascends to the throne when King Jaffe (James Earl Jones) dies.

However, now-King Akeem deals with a threat from neighboring Nexdorian leader General Izzi (Wesley Snipes) because he lacks a male heir. This changes when Akeem learns of illegitimate son Lavelle Junson (Jermaine Fowler), so he and Semmi head back to New York to meet his now-30-year-old offspring.

On the positive side, Coming brings back pretty much everyone from the first movie. In addition to Murphy, Hall, Headley, and Jones, we find John Amos, Paul Bates, Vanessa Bell, Louie Anderson and others, so it becomes nice to see so much of the old gang.

On the negative side… well, pretty much everything else. While Coming doesn’t turn into a disaster, it also fails to become a satisfying sequel.

Part of the problem stems from the utter lack of inspiration on display. While the first movie showed Africans who dealt with American culture, with Coming, we largely find Americans who deal with African culture.

That doesn’t exactly bring a clever spin on the concept, and at times, Coming feels like a virtual remake of the prior film. To my surprise, this one doesn’t focus all that much on Akeem’s story, as it becomes Lavelle’s journey much of the time.

Not that Akeem remains on the sidelines, and he plays a bigger role than King Jaffe did in the first flick. Still, we mainly follow Lavelle’s arc, probably because that allows for the semi-remake I mentioned.

In addition to the narrative echoes we find, Coming also often repeats gags from the prior movie. We locate a lot of the same jokes, and even when these bits vary somewhat, they still feel a little too familiar for comfort.

Sure, we expect that from a comedic sequel to some degree, but we also want a second chapter that manages its own identity. Coming can’t do that, as it just feels like a retread a lot of the time.

Some of this occurs literally, as Coming features an awful lot of clips from the 1988 flick, and of course, Murphy and Hall reprise various “other roles” from the prior movie, such as the denizens of the Queens barbershop.

Clearly the filmmakers hope that viewers will feel so happy to spend time with their old pals again that they won’t mind the absence of real freshness. In addition, Coming pours on celebrity cameos, as nary a section of the movie comes without one notable or another.

A little of that goes a long way, and the guests really do feel like a smokescreen. This turns into a virtual parade of recognizable faces, and their presence can seem like a gimmick gone wild that damages the movie.

Coming does manage occasional amusement, and it finds a few clever ideas along the way. For instance, I like King Jaffe’s “pre-funeral”, and rehashed though they may be, the barbershop guys still amuse.

Still, too much of Coming just feels limp, and while Fowler does his best, he doesn’t substitute for circa 1988 Murphy. All the cameos in the world can’t obscure the blah nature of the story as well.

Sure, Coming delivers a nice pro-equality message. However, it does so in a half-hearted manner, like it feels it needs to give us a social purpose but it really just wants to throw jokes and guests at us.

Coming doesn’t turn into an awful sequel. It does become a less than inspired one, though, as it gives us little more than a bland rehash of the original.

Footnote: bloopers and other bits of footage appear during and after the end credits.

Coming 2 America appears in an aspect ratio of approximately 2.00:1 on this Blu-ray Disc. This became an appealing presentation.

At all times, sharpness looked good. Nary a sliver of softness materialized, so this turned into an accurate image.

No signs of jaggies or shimmering occurred. The image also lacked edge haloes or print flaws.

In terms of colors, Coming opted for an amber/golden palette, though it tossed out a broad range of other hues when appropriate. The hues looked rich and warm throughout the film.

Blacks came across as dark and dense, while shadows showed nice smoothness and clarity. The movie offered a pleasing transfer.

As for the film’s DTS-HD MA 5.1 soundtrack, it opted for a fairly standard “comedy mix” much of the time, though some elements opened up the action at times. Action-related moments and those in nature brought out some dimensionality, and the mix used music as an active partner.

Audio quality appeared good. Speech seemed distinctive and concise, without roughness or brittleness.

Music was warm and full, as the movie used the songs and score in a bold manner. Effects showed good delineation and accuracy. This ended up as a satisfactory mix for a comedy.

The disc comes with a mix of extras, and we open with an audio commentary from director Craig Brewer. He provides a running, screen-specific look at story/character areas, sets and locations, cast and performances, music and choreography, effects, costumes, makeup and production challenges, and the nature of this sequel.

Chatty and engaged, Brewer makes this a pretty good commentary. This doesn't become a "warts and all" piece, as Brewer focused on the positive, but he brings enough insights to turn the track into a worthwhile listen.

From Queens to Zamunda runs 25 minutes, 43 seconds and features Brewer, screenwriters Kenya Barris, David Sheffield and Barry Blaustein, filmmaker John Landis, costume designer Ruth Carter, producer Kevin Misher, character makeup designer Mike Marino, choreographer Fatima Robinson, and actors Eddie Murphy, Tracy Morgan, Teyana Taylor, Vanessa Bell Calloway, Shari Headley, Paul Bates, Arsenio Hall, John Amos, Louie Anderson, Leslie Jones, Kiki Layne, Wesley Snipes, Jermaine Fowler, Nomzamo Mbatha, and Bella Murphy.

“Queens” looks at the original film and its legacy, the development of the sequel, cast and performances, story/characters, makeup effects, music and choreography, costumes and connected domains.

At times, we get some decent insights here. However, “Queens” comes with an awful lot of happy talk, so don’t expect tons of substance.

Finally, the disc provides a Trailer Gallery. This provides promos for Beverly Hills Cop, Coming to America, Trading Places, Dreamgirls, Harlem Nights, 48 Hrs., Imagine That and Norbit. No preview for Coming 2 America appears here.

If fans expect Coming 2 America to deliver a satisfying sequel to the 1988 original, they will encounter disappointment, as it becomes a stale rehash. The Blu-ray offers excellent visuals as well as pretty good audio and a few bonus features. This could’ve been a worse film than it is, but Coming 2 America nonetheless fails to offer an appealing second chapter.