Most sequels don't measure up to the original and this one is no exception. I guess "Romancing the Stone", with the same two stars, Kathleen Turner, Michael Douglas and Danny DeVito was an original, although the incunabulum was "Raiders of the Lost Ark" -- antic adventures in an exotic land among colorful and vicious enemies, with plenty of wisecracks along the route. Notches above an Abbott and Costello movie. (A jackass sits down on top of DeVito, who squirms and hollers.)This sequel is bigger, splashier, more expensive than the original. More of the slapstick and derring do, but less fresh.The plot's not worth describing, something about the pursuit of a jewel that turns out to be a religious reformer whose name means "jewel" in Arabic. (That would be 'جوهرة', according to my translator, Shaymala.) Still it's an undemanding and enjoyable diversion, what with the explosions and bodies flying through the air and last-minute rescues. It passes the time painlessly, like a dental procedure under laughing gas.The acting by the three principals is about the same as it was in "Romancing the Stone." That is, not much is required. Douglas and Turner worked together well on three films, along with Danny DeVito. Here, DeVito is just along for the ride. "Listen, Colton, you OWE me, so wherever you go, I go." That's DeVito's motivation, and it satisfied, because who gives a damn anyway? I've always kind of liked DeVito. He's pretty clever for a guy from Neptune, New Jersey. He and Jack Nicholson were childhood friends, and DeVito dated Nicholson's sister. DeVito has managed to work with a number of recognizable actors from New Jersey, including Michael Douglas (New Brunswick), whose regional accent reflects his native state.

Jewel of the Nile is the poor made sequel of the somewhat acclaimed 'Romancing the Stone' . And what i mean by poorly made is 'very poorly made' . The script is laughable. Way too bad. It's filled with poor dialogs, and unfunny racist jokes towards the people from Africa. It has also totally nonsense and cliché moments, composing perhaps one of the worst screenplays that i've ever saw. I'm not exaggerating, and if you think so, just go watch the film by yourself and you'll see what i'm talking about. A quick example would be the unfunny jokes by DeVito. The acting is horrible. The actors really seems to not care at all about the film. And rightfully so. And the soundtrack. Come on. That's one of the reasons of why the 80s are so lame. The music is horrible in this film, the typical annoying 80s pop beats as a soundtrack really wasn't a good idea to put in it. The edition is equally poor. Shame.Avoid this film. It's too bad for the sake of being bad. 2.6/10

I remember when I first viewed this action adventure romp in the 80's after its entertaining predecessor "Romancing The Stone" and being disappointed then but gave it another chance recently, unfortunately with the same underwhelming impact as before.The main fault here is that it's an almost exact remake of the original so that there's no plot surprises or character development to compel the viewer's interest. It also makes the same mistake as the second Indiana Jones film in devoting the bulk of its length to an extended chase sequence which for all its pyrotechnic interludes actually ends up boring you to indifference. It's also weighed down with a lumpen synth-driven soundtrack completely at odds with the Eastern locations.In its favour, it's colourful and bright, has one or two smile-inducing lines and the leads try hard, Douglas handsome and stylish as the matinée dare-devil idol, Jack, Turner pretty and vivacious as romantic adventurer Joan and DeVito his usual waspish self as Jack's perennial rival for the imaginary gem of the misleading title.You can certainly see where the money's been spent, with exotic locations, literally hundreds of extras and enough expensive hardware to supply a small third-world country. However, like so many things from the decade that style forgot, namely the 80's, it hasn't aged well and looks like nothing so much these days as about a hundred Duran Duran videos welded back to back, which I don't mean as a compliment!

I loved Romancing the Stone, yes it was old-fashioned but it was a lot of fun too. The Jewel of the Nile isn't as good, there are pacing problems, the story isn't as well held together this time around and the chemistry between Douglas and Turner doesn't quite sparkle as much. However, the locations, scenery and cinematography are superb, as is the score, while the action and one-liners effortlessly come by thick and fast. The direction is also pretty good, while Michael Douglas, Danny DeVito and especially Kathaleen Turner clearly have a lot of fun as they search for the Jewel of the Nile. All in all, not quite as good but it is a sequel worth watching. It isn't as well thought out, but there is plenty to enjoy and the film doesn't fall into the trap of being a sequel that is its predecessor all over again. 7/10 Bethany Cox