Jack Colton (Michael Douglas) and Joan Wilder (Kathleen Turner) have been touring the world ever since their last escapade in Romancing the Stone, but when a mysterious man named Omar asks her to write the story of him becoming Emperor and joining his people in peace, they decide to go their separate ways - Jack to Greece, Joan to Africa. After Jack’s boat is blown up he soon teams up with Ralph (Danny DeVito) and a gang of nomads who aim to get back something that Omar has taken from them - "the Jewel of the Nile". But what is this "Jewel"?
20th Century Fox has again created a beautiful video transfer in 2.35:1 widescreen that easily matches the Stone in sharpness, detail and color. Black levels are very good, with minimal noise and grain. Colors are very even throughout with no hot spots or noticeable shifting. There is a moderate amount of white lint, however overall it’s a very clean transfer with no black specks or scratches. The picture is bright and clear with minimal aliasing and absolutely no digital artifacting. The disc features 22 chapter stops and English and Spanish subtitles.
The audio is something of a mixed bag. Compared to Romancing the Stone it is generally clearer with more bass and less harsh treble, however the dialogue track features a lot of background hiss and noise that is probably a defect in the original mix. Fox has chosen to present this film in mere 2-channel ProLogic surround, rather than remastering it into full 5.1. As such, rear channel activity is limited with poor dynamic range and a fair amount of clipping during gunfire and explosions.
DVD Menus feature a small amount of animation and one bonus feature – a full screen theatrical trailer that seems to have come from some extremely worn stock. Like the previous film, it features DeVito in an amusing cameo scene giving a rundown on the plot line.
This movie features a slightly more complex plot line than it’s predecessor and more humor and special effects. The transfer is top-notch, missing only 16:9 video enhancement and 6-channel audio remastering. If you enjoyed this movie or think you might this disc deserves a place in your DVD library.
- Reviewed by Daniel Tonks on June 10, 1999.
 | |
| Movie: |
  |
| Video Quality: |
|
| Audio Quality: |
|
| Supplements: |
|
1-Poor 2-Fair 3-Good 4-Excellent
|
System Equipment
Sony DVP-S500D DVD Player
Sony STR-GA8ES 5.1 Receiver
Sony KV-27V65 27" Television using S-Video
Nuance Spatial & Star Series Speakers
|
| 
Return to the DVD reviews index