Shadowing the 90s
Sadly, Eddie Murphy’s eagerly anticipated comedy sequel is not a patch on the original 80s smash
LOOKING glossy with high spec graphics is not the be-all-and-end-all, as Cyber Shadow proves. With its 8-bit arcade feel and techno music, it is completely retro, and felt like stepping back in the earlyNineties for all the right reasons.
Sure, the controls are basic, limited to jumps and punches, and the story is so-so – but there is a good balance of challenge, although there are frustrating cheap deaths.
A flying foe could be heading your way taking a bar of health, but in the process it knocks you into a pit of fire, taking even more and practically guaranteeing your death.
Boo! It stinks and it annoys you. Thankfully there are check points.
Overall, we enjoyed the setup. The final word: Bar the cheap deaths, this is a gripping 8-bit retro side-scrolling action title that will have you hooked. Price: From £15.99 (Free with Xbox Game Pass Ultimate)
DON’T call it a comeback. After rediscovering his edge two years ago with Dolemite Is My Name, Eddie Murphy plays it safe with a bland retread of his 1988 hit. Comedy sequels rarely work (jokes are seldom as funny on the second telling) and, despite some mildly amusing sequences, Coming 2 America is too happy to coast along on cameo appearances, broad comedy and knowing callbacks to the original.
Here, the culture clash is thrown into reverse. Instead of Murphy’s pampered African prince Akeem searching for true love on the rough streets of New York, it’s the turn of his street-smart American son Lavelle (Jermaine Fowler) to be the fish out of water when he visits his father’s opulent palace.
Since we last saw them, Akeem and his American princess Lisa (Shari Headley) have raised three healthy daughters.
But Zamundan tradition dictates that Akeem needs a male heir. And when his kingly father
(James Earl Jones) takes to his death bed, he orders Akeem to return to New York to bring back a love child he never knew existed, his return prophesised by the royal witch doctor.
A brief stay in Queens allows Murphy and his co-star Arsenio Hall to don prosthetics to reprise their comedy side characters. The film’s funniest and liveliest sequence takes us back to the My-T-Sharp barbershop where the brassnecked regulars lecture a young client on “political correctness”.
Wesley Snipes, who was so good in Dolemite, has his moments too. But these talented comic performers deserve far better material.