close your eyes and imagine you're in 2018 again. doesn't three years ago seem nostalgic at this point? but anyway, now imagine you know for sure that a remake of coming to america is on the way. picture what you think the movie will be like -- the story, the character types, the jokes. congratulations, you've just seen in your mind what coming 2 america actually is. not that this is the worst thing in the world. the craig brewer-directed follow-up, 33 years after the eddie murphy classic, mines nostalgia in a mostly-good way. murphy and arsenio hall are in fine form here, and they're supplemented by a pretty great cast that add everything they can to kenya barris, barry w. blaustein, and david sheffield's script about akeem bringing his newly-discovered son from queens to zamunda to become his heir. they make the jokes fly when they might otherwise sink and the dynamic between the cast is great, as they're clearly having a lot of fun. but man, is this a safe mainstream comedy. every beat is predictable, and the script takes absolutely no risks whatsoever. barris adds a little life to the script but the film spends a lot of time cycling back to the old jokes of the first film. it really only works, again, thanks to the cast's force of will to make it succeed; in the hands of other actors or if they'd had a bit less passion for this movie, it would have fallen incredibly flat. all in all, coming 2 america certainly isn't the worst thing that could have happened here. and those looking for a nostalgia boost and a little bit of fun will be rewarded to a degree. it doesn't dishonor the memory of its predecessor, but it sure doesn't elevate it either.