Curator Watchlist
A breezy, star-powered sequel with a few genuine laughs and plenty of affection for its characters, but it leans hard on nostalgia and often feels like a polished retread rather than a fresh comedy. The cast is game and the production is lavish, yet the humor is uneven and the story rarely has the bite or surprise… Read more
Where to watch: Buy
Thu · 1h 48m
Director: Craig Brewer
Starring: Eddie Murphy, Arsenio Hall, Jermaine Fowler
Prince Akeem Joffer is set to become King of Zamunda when he discovers he has a son he never knew about in America – a street savvy Queens native named Lavelle. Honoring his royal father's dying wish to groom this son as the crown prince, Akeem and Semmi set off to America once again.
Craig Brewer
Eddie Murphy, Arsenio Hall, Jermaine Fowler
A breezy, star-powered sequel with a few genuine laughs and plenty of affection for its characters, but it leans hard on nostalgia and often feels like a polished retread rather than a fresh comedy. The cast is game and the production is lavish, yet the humor is uneven and the story rarely has the bite or surprise of the original.
Coming 2 America is built on affection: for the characters, for the world of Zamunda, and for the memory of a much sharper predecessor. That warmth helps it coast through some of its weaker stretches, and Eddie Murphy and Arsenio Hall still have enough comic chemistry to make the reunion feel worthwhile at moments.
But the movie is also trapped by its own nostalgia. It keeps reaching for familiar beats, familiar jokes, and familiar emotional turns, often without finding a new angle on any of them. The result is pleasant more than funny, polished more than inspired.
As a legacy sequel, it’s competent and occasionally charming. As a comedy, it’s inconsistent and too cautious to fully justify its existence. If you’re returning for the cast and the world, there’s enough here to get by; if you’re hoping for a true revival, it falls short.
matt lynch (2★) · 704 likes
Drains all the texture and thorny Black Americana out of the original in favor of callbacks and cheap gags. There's so little meat on its clothesline narrative, with none of the older film's sweetness added to this one's relatively tame depiction of aspiration nor frankness added to this toothless story of reverse assimilation. Ugly too, replacing the wintry New York locations with soundstages and green screens, shot like a sitcom. Really disappointing from Brewer.
Rendy Jones (2.5★) · 420 likes
Nostalgia is a disease.
Tino Hahn (1★) · 399 likes
Das Buch ist besser. Welches? Jedes.
Christian Di Leo (2.5★) · 213 likes
2 COMING 2 AMERICA Well folks, it ain't some fucking bullshit like Dumb And Dumber To or Zoolander 2, so thank god for that. This is actually an okay sequel in my opinion. It's funny enough, it ties back to the original in many ways and it adds some great new characters. Jermaine Fowler is a great addition, he was great in Buffaloed, which I watched the other day, and totally good in this as well. Wesley Snipes, holy shit,… more
Jack (2★) · 213 likes
bad movie but ahhh it’s just so great to see Eddie Murphy having some fun on screen again
The essential predecessor: sharper, looser, and more culturally alive, with the same characters and a much stronger comic rhythm.
Another Eddie Murphy showcase that balances broad character comedy with a warmer, more inventive sense of performance.
A big-studio star vehicle built around Murphy’s charm and rapid-fire comic persona, even if it’s uneven.
A glossy, adult romantic comedy with Black Hollywood style, ensemble energy, and a similar era-specific charm.
A period comedy with swagger, star power, and a strong sense of Black American style and performance.
A fantasy-comedy vehicle for Murphy that mixes fish-out-of-water humor with a playful blockbuster sensibility.
A classic comic character study about social aspiration and absurdity, with a similarly broad but affectionate tone.
A polished ensemble comedy that thrives on character clashes, status games, and sharp comic timing.
A warm, high-energy family and identity comedy that pairs big performances with genuine heart.
For viewers drawn to dysfunctional family royalty, inheritance, and stylized emotional comedy.
A family-inheritance story with a more dramatic register, but similar concerns about legacy and self-definition.
A light, crowd-pleasing family reunion story built around identity, class differences, and emotional reconciliation.
legacy sequel, family reunion, royalty and inheritance, cultural identity, cross-cultural comedy, nostalgia, father-son relationship, wealth and privilege
legacy sequel, family comedy, nostalgia, royal setting, cross-cultural, inheritance, identity, ensemble comedy, 2020s, lighthearted