Not too long ago, I talked about 1984’s Romancing the Stone which is a really fun adventure movie. Romancing the Stone was a surprise hit for the studio, they actually expected it to flop, so when it made a ton of money, a sequel was fast tracked. There is no Robert Zemeckis this time behind the camera, instead, we have Lewis Teague.
How to Download The Jewel of the Nile
The Jewel of the Nile was released on December 11, 1985. You can download or stream the film from a digital platform. Click on the Download button at the end of this review and make your choice.
The Movie Review
Revisiting the Adventure on Blu-Ray
I talked about how I just had Romancing the Stone and The Jewel of the Nile on DVD, but after watching the first movie and complaining about how bad that DVD looked. I did pick them both up on Blu-Ray and it is a pretty solid leap from the DVD. Although, I still think that both of these movies could do with some kind of big 4K restoration. Also, I am surprised that Hollywood has not tried to remake or make a modern sequel to this.
The Return of the Iconic Trio
If you liked the first movie, you will like this. The Jewel of the Nile is a very, very similar movie to Romancing the Stone. I actually prefer this over the first movie, but there is not much in it. We get our “heroic” trio of Kathleen Turner’s Joan, Michael Douglas’s Jack, and Danny DeVito’s Ralph back together and once again, they are on a wild adventure.
Joan’s New Mission and the Mysterious Omar
Jack and Joan are still together after the events of the first movie, but the excitement is gone. While in France, Joan gets the opportunity to write the biography of a fancy Arab bigwig called Omar. Jack is not all that happy about it, but Joan heads off with Omar anyway as she has been having a hard time coming up with new ideas for a book.
The Adventure to Rescue Joan
Jack runs into Ralph and the chemistry these two had from the first movie is well and truly still there. Turns out that Omar is not who he says he is and he has kidnapped Joan! Not only has Omar kidnapped Joan, he also supposedly has the fabled Jewel of the Nile, leading to Jack and Ralph to team up to save Joan and also get their hands on that treasure.
Fun, Action, and Exotic Locations
This is just a super fun movie from start to end! The chemistry between the characters, the exciting action scenes, the gorgeous exotic locations, and the humor are all still here. I would say that it is even a bit better than it was in the first movie. So many movies make unnecessary sequels that fail to capture the lightning in a bottle the first movie did, but that is not the case here at all. This is one of those movies where when the credits started to roll, I was shocked, not in a bad way, but because I was so engrossed in it and having so much fun, it just flew by.
Billy Ocean’s Iconic Soundtrack
Before, I bring this review of The Jewel of the Nile to a close, we have to talk about the soundtrack, well one song from the soundtrack. I would put When the Going Get’s Tough, the Tough Get Going by Billy Ocean up there with the best movie songs of all time! Not only is it an awesome song, but the music video is hilarious as they got Michael Douglas, Kathleen Turner, and Danny DeVito to dance and have fun with Billy Ocean. You cannot think of the movie without thinking of the song and you cannot think of the song without thinking of the movie, that tells you how iconic the song is!
Final Thoughts on The Jewel of the Nile
How can you watch The Jewel of the Nile and Romancing the Stone and not have a great time? I wonder what the canceled third movie would have been like if they could have gotten it made? I am so glad I picked both of these up on Blu-Ray. These are movies that I find impossible to watch on their own, if I watch Romancing the Stone, it is always with the intent of watching the Jewel of the Nile shortly after.
