
The Jewel of the Nile
1985, Action/Romance, 1h 44m
26 Reviews 50,000+ RatingsWhat to know
critics consensus
The sense of romantic spark has waned and the prevalence of stereotypes has grown in Jewel of the Nile, although there is still plenty of swooning action for fans of the first adventure. Read critic reviews
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Movie Info
Cast & Crew
Jack
Joan
Ralph
Omar
Holy Man
Tarak
News & Interviews for The Jewel of the Nile
Critic Reviews for The Jewel of the Nile
All Critics (26) | Top Critics (3) | Fresh (12) | Rotten (14)
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[The script] seems to consist of shouted dialogue and descriptions of action scenes. Lewis Teague's direction doesn't help; the extreme closeups seem aimed for the cassette audience.
July 23, 2019 | Full Review… -
Director Lewis Teague uses the frame the way a magician uses a hat or a handkerchief: surprises are always popping into it, or out of its shadows.
January 4, 2018 | Full Review… -
It's to everybody's credit that The Jewel of the Nile is an ambitious and elaborate attempt to repeat the success of the first movie; it's not just a ripoff.
January 1, 2000 | Rating: 3/4 | Full Review… -
A pesky sort of sequel, not so bad that one reviles it for good but sadly just good enough that once a decade or so you will find yourself giving it another chance and wasting another two hours finding out that it really is simple mediocre entertainment.
March 15, 2021 | Rating: 4/10 | Full Review… -
Death and peril are entirely unbelievable, while amorous bickering feels forced and inauthentic.
September 6, 2020 | Rating: 4/10 | Full Review… -
It's a fairly amusing bit of escapist fluff-as long as you remember to hit the "off" button on your political consciousness when the theatre starts to darken.
August 22, 2019 | Full Review…
Audience Reviews for The Jewel of the Nile
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Feb 12, 2013The Jewel of the Nile continues the adventures of romance novelist Joan Wilder, but this time in a more contrived and stereotypical action film. While sailing around the world with Jack Colton, Joan becomes bored with writing romance novels and accepts an invitation do an article on an African dictator who's about to united the tribes of his country, but soon after arriving at his palace she discovers that things aren't as they appear. Michael Douglas, Kathleen Turner, and Danny DeVito all return and slip quite easily back into their characters. But, this time the story is completely formulaic and takes itself too seriously; which drains a lot of fun out of the film. While The Jewel of Nile isn't as good as it's predecessor, its still entertaining and has its moments.Dann M Super Reviewer
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Aug 27, 2012Again we have the 'Indy' comparison with this sequel. 'Temple of Doom' came out in 84 then along comes the sequel to the original 'Indy' rip off in 85 and again its another poor mans version in my opinion. On top of that we're back to the most common terrain for all adventure flicks...sand dunes in the desert. Now the original film was slightly adult in nature, swearing, soft sex scenes, drugs and slightly more mature action. This time the film has gone completely down the comedy route by amping up the action set pieces ten fold but making them more slapstick than before. The first half of this film feels like a complete 'Temple of Doom' spin, yes I know its set in Egypt but the whole look and feel and the way Turner's character is treated is very similar to 'Doom' at the start. As the film progresses it does manage to shake the 'Indy' vibe and instead could possibly be seen as an early influence for certain Brendan Fraser adventure flicks...well that's just my view. Unfortunately the film just can't escape the need to follow in 'Dr Jones' footsteps so we have an entire action sequence involving a jet plane that is pretty similar to the Nazi plane fight sequence in 'Raiders of the Lost Ark'. Well 'Indy' comparisons aside (hard to do) the film is still pretty poor. Its chock full of plot holes and inconsistencies which are just silly. Yes I know you can't take the film seriously as at the end of the day its just a fun adventure film but come on!. For a start the trio (Turner, Douglas and Eisenberg) seem to walk and jog across half of Egypt (or somewhere in North Africa) for most of the film. One minute they are being chased by soldiers across a flat desert, the next minute after a brisk jog they are in a mountainous region and manage to climb up a huge cliff face without need for pause or water at any point!. Plus I must add I was never sure where exactly they are suppose to be in North Africa. One minute they're in the fictional nation of 'Kadir', then they stray into Nubian land, then back into Arabic land, they cover a lot of ground it seems. Its all in the same region but its a big region. I guess the continuity is good from the last film, same cast, I don't like the cast but they gel well. Devito has an even bigger comedy role this time and is still completely not funny, almost turning his character into a kind of 'Wil E. Coyote' farce this time, shameful. Speaking of shameful, the less said about the cheap looking sets the better methinks, whoa! Its admittedly cult 80's action fluff but I just can't give a thumbs up for this or the original. This is worse than the first as its been dumbed down badly, at least the first was more mature. You can certainly see where many other adventure flicks in recent years may have gotten inspiration as this has all the ingredients you would expect. Again the films poster is really good but this time gives a good impression of the action to be seen.Phil H Super Reviewer
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Apr 29, 2010Kathleen Turner plays Joan Wilder who is a famous romance novelist with a recently acquired writer's block who lives on a boat with her boyfriend Jack Cotton (Michael Douglas). Joan agrees to write the biography of a Shiek and is whisked off to Africa, leaving poor Jack behind. Joan soon finds herself in the midst of a mysterious and dangerous situation involving the all powerful "Jewel". Danny DeVito, who has been lurking about and hears the word "Jewel" is not going to be left out this time, and tags along with Jack to come to her rescue. All in all, it's an enjoyable enough comic adventure and Danny De Vito once again steals the show and gets the biggest laughs as they trek through the desert with some angry Muslims hot on their heels.Deb S Super Reviewer
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Jan 20, 2010The best 80s sequel ever made!!!! This was an extremely good sequel. You have Michael, Kathleen & Danny. What more could you ask for?! Lol. :) A very enjoyable 80s classic! :)Cassie H Super Reviewer
The Jewel of the Nile Quotes
Barak: | Liar to the people |
Barak: | Liar to the people. |
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