Coming to America isn’t as much of a repeat viewing compared with Murphy’s others like Beverly Hills Cop or Trading Places, but it’s still a whole lot of fun.
Coming to America
(1988)
Genre(s): Comedy, Romance
Paramount | R – 117 min. – $29.99 | December 1, 2020
Date Published: 05/27/2018 | Author: The Movieman
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THE MOVIE — 3.75/5 |
| Plot Synopsis: Prince Akeem (EDDIE MURPHY) is the prince of a wealthy African country and wants for nothing, except a wife who will love him in spite of his title. To escape an arranged marriage, Akeem flees to America accompanied by his persnickety sidekick, Semmi (ARSENIO HALL), to find his queen. Disguised as a foreign student working in fast food, he romances Lisa (SHARI HEADLEY), but struggles with revealing his true identity to her and his marital intentions to his king father (JAMES EARL JONES).
Quick Hit Review: I’m not as crazy as a fan of Coming to America compared to most but still found it incredibly funny and showcases (or reminds) why Eddie Murphy was so damn good back in the 1980s. The jokes mostly land and the chemistry between not only Murphy and Shari Headley but Murphy and Hall as best friends, was what really made the film work. The only thing I probably didn’t care for was when Murphy was playing multiple characters, not sure why but took me out of an otherwise good movie. |
SPECIAL FEATURES – 2.5/5 |
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This (re)-release comes housed in a Steelbook case and inside is a Digital HD redemption code and mini-poster. All the features from the previous release are included:
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VIDEO – 4¾/5 |
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Coming to America arrives on 4K Ultra HD presented in its original 1.78 widescreen aspect ratio and given a 2160p high-definition transfer. Compared with the Blu-ray, which was a pretty old transfer, this was a nice upgrade, colors are vibrant in keeping with the comedic elements and detail is extremely sharp and very well defined throughout. The natural film grain and noise is still there and there were no especially noticeable weaknesses like artifacting or any film damage (scratches, dust marks, etc.). |
AUDIO – 4/5 |
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Another upgrade from the Blu-ray, we’re going from standard Dolby Digital 5.1 to DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, not a significant difference, but from memory, does sound more balanced and less heavy in comparison. The music and score comes across with some nice depth from the front and rear channels while most of the movie is pretty much centrally located, including the clear dialogue. |
OVERALL – 3½/5 |
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Overall, Coming to America isn’t as much of a repeat viewing compared with Murphy’s others like Beverly Hills Cop or Trading Places, but it’s still a whole lot of fun with some great jokes that consistently land. This 4K release may not have any new features but the video and audio have been nicely upgraded. |