Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F

Not that long ago, a certain sequel like “Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F” would have made so much at the box office over the Fourth of July weekend. However, we’re in a different time, and the long-awaited fourth film in the Eddie Murphy franchise was released on Netflix on July 3^rd instead of in the theaters. Brian Tallerico said in his review, “While streaming services sequels usually mean the death of quality control, “Axel F” is a shockingly entertaining diversion, the best in the series since the film that helped make Murphy one of the biggest stars of his generation.” These long-awaited sequels are often a cash-grab for nostalgia, but there’s been a change in this lately with amazing hits like “Creed” and “Top Gun: Maverick.”

“Axel F” may not be nearly as good as those film, but it’s so much closer than you would think. If nothing else, it reminds audiences just how amazing Murphy can be in the right area by giving him talented supporting cast to play his comedic skills with, like Taylour Paige, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and Kevin Bacon. Tallerico noted, “The nostalgic callbacks to characters from the original trilogy feel almost contractually required and, hence, fall flat. Still, there’s enough here to accomplish exactly what Netflix wants on a holiday weekend when people used to go to the theater in droves: make them stay home.”

“Axel F” starts as these films do, with Axel Foley getting into undercover trouble in Detroit, this time stopping a robbery at a Red Wings game that ends up with a destructive chase through the city in a snowplow – the first of a series of well-done chase scenes in the film, something that isn’t done anymore in this realm of over-CGI films. We see that Axel’s former partner in the DPD, Jeffrey Friedman, played by Paul Reiser, is the Chief of Police now, but he’s already filed for retirement. This starts a series of conversations about veteran law enforcement and a profession that doesn’t always handle its seniors well.

Axel himself is now getting old, but he goes back to Beverly Hills when his estranged daughter Jane played by Paige, is nearly murdered because she gets too close to a case involving dangerous cops. Now this signals the return of familiar faces like Billy Rosewood (Judge Reinhold) and John Taggart (John Ashton). Rosewood is a private detective after a fallout with BHPD Chief Taggart, that made him leave the force. Additions to this series for the first time are Detective Bobby Abbott (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) and Captain Cade Grant (Kevin Bacon). Abbott is Jane’s ex and an obvious ally. Tallerico described, “Grant might as well be twirling a handlebar mustache, and he’s so clearly the bad guy.”

From the beginning, “Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F” is resistant and playful in a way that long-awaited sequels usually aren’t allowed to be, and that was missing the previous two sluggish sequels. Murphy is at his best when he’s allowed to move through a film, light on his feet, laughing and smiling in a way that fans love. Even the score here feels playful as Lorne Balfe includes parts of the original Harold Faltermeyer classic into something fresh while also directly using tracks from the huge 1984 soundtrack.

You might say this is a cheap trick, but there’s a balance. When Bronson Pinchot’s Serge shows up in a bad scene, you could remember the potential version of this film that’s all callbacks and familiar areas. Tallerico said, “However, director Mark Molloy uses familiarity as seasoning instead of the whole meal. It may seem like faint praise, but there are so many iterations of this reboot – probably including the one almost once directed by Brett Ratner – that go for cheap jokes about cancel culture, generation gaps, and other beats that usually drag down recent films with older comedy stars.” There’s thankfully little of that here as the script keeps the story going in a way that doesn’t call attention to the fact that it’s a franchise that skipped at least one generation.

It helps a lot to have supporting cast willing to help out. Tallerico noted, “Murphy often comes to life when he’s given fun sparring partners, such as acting opposite Wesley Snipes and Da’Vine Joy Randolph in “Dolemite is My Name.”” Paige, Levitt, and Bacon aren’t quite that good, but they all understood what to do, not phoning it in like so many Netflix original supporting actors. Bacon goes into his self-righteous antagonism, and Levitt grounds the film in a few moments when it really needs it. Paige is great but the writers admittedly run out of things to do with her, forcing her into the same arguments with her distant dad quite a bit. As for the returning actors, Reinhold disappears for most of the movie, but Ashton delivers when he’s called to do so.

Tallerico mentioned, “As for the production, cinematographer Eduard Grau (“Passing”) works with commercial vet Molloy to give the film just the right amount of Cali sheen, getting closer to the look of the original with just enough touches to remind people of the Tony Scott aesthetic of the first sequel too. Dan Lebental knows how to cut together these hot-weather legacy action/comedy sequels, following up his editing of “Bad Boys: Ride or Die” with another tightly-cut summer sequel with the right action rhythm. It may seem like nothing to most Netflix viewers, but the truth is a lot of streaming original films, especially the ones that could be called cash grabs (looking at you, "Red Notice"), look lazily made, and that’s never true here.”

You can also see that Fourth of July movies have often meant escapism, a way to leave our problems behind for a few hours and separate ourselves form reality in the theaters. Tallerico said, “While the world becomes a more divisive, tumultuous, anxiety-producing place by the day in Summer 2024, there’s something almost comforting about a movie that, like the no-nonsense cop of its title, gets the job done.”

If you haven’t been impressed with the last two sequels in this franchise, see this one on Netflix. As a movie that was in talks for years, coming out 40 years after the original and 30 years after the last sequel, it was well worth watching. Check it out and see a Murphy movie that needed a sequel desperately.

Thank you for joining in on “Beverly Hills Cop Month.” I hope you enjoyed this month. Stay tuned next month to see what I will review next.

Beverly Hills Cop III

In Detroit, Michigan, in the early hours of the morning, eccentric Detective Axel Foley and his team of policemen finally get the details of a huge deal. The targets are just mechanics running a carjacking operation, so Foley hastily cancels the arrival of a SWAT team – not listening to the orders of his superior. As predicted, machinegun-shooting gangsters raid the warehouse with bullets to take a smuggled shipment of unknown but valuable materials, catching Foley’s squad completely unprepared. Starting a firefight and car chase through the empty streets leaves Inspector Todd, played by Gil Hill, dead and several others wounded.

Secret Service Agent Steve Fulbright, played by Stephen McHattie, interrupts Foley trying to inform him that he encountered a federal investigation that requires the crooks escaping so that their merchandise and intended buyer can be discovered and apprehended. Refusing to drop the case, Axel travels to Beverly Hills to visit his friend Sergeant William Rosewood, who might be able to help. Officer Jon Flint (Hector Elizondo) is supposed to schedule a meeting with Ellis De Wald (Timothy Carhart), the Director of Security for Wonder World, a large California amusement park (where an “Alien Attack” exhibit is recognizably filmed at Universal Studios). Foley’s sneaking alarms armed guards that cause so many issues when they begin shooting and destroying rides, damaging park guests, and revealing a criminal conspiracy between De Wald, enforcers for hire, Wonder World, and other shady parties.

Mike Massie said in his review, “It starts with a bang, throwing cops against gunmen in an explosive shootout and vehicle chase, involving plenty of death and destruction and Murphy behind the wheel of a flashy red sports car – careening around to rock ‘n’ roll tunes. The storyline picks up quickly, leading to further action sequences, including a malfunctioning Ferris wheel-type attraction, underground skirmishes, and public embarrassments at elite gatherings. Shortly thereafter, however, the subversive machinations are complicated with meandering subplots that slow down the pacing more than they heighten suspense.” Jurisdictional encounters, a temporary romantic interest with park safety employee Janice Perkins (Theresa Randle), a missing designer, the introduction of Wonder World showman Uncle Dave (Alan Young), and hopelessly clumsy henchmen don’t help move things along either.

Cameos by Bronson Pinchot, George Lucas, Julie Strain, Ray Harryhausen, and others are curious but not amusing. And more confusing still is the use of successful but unrecognizable Hollywood directors (such as Peter Medak, Arthur Hiller, Barbet Schroeder, John Singleton, and Joe Dante) in very brief appearances. Massie noted, “These wasted peculiarities are even muddier with the increasingly greater loss of focus on humor. An annoyingly uninspired villain, gimmicky fight scenes (primarily with the ludicrously contrived Annihilator 2000 total security unit, a lightweight, high-performance multi-use weapon), and the lack of sincerity in the face of danger are further laugh-retardants.” Foley again proves suspiciously hard to kill (even in a heavy elephant costume), but this time around, the situations aren’t nearly as funny or exciting as in the last two films and Murphy appears far less enthusiastic and energetic.

As everyone can guess, this is the worst of the franchise. I saw this on YouTube back when everything used to be uploaded in various parts because YouTube only allowed 10-minute videos. I can’t believe that this film ended up the way it was. Were they trying to show that Foley had matured? Because they clearly didn’t do a good job. Murphy himself said that this film was so atrocious and wanted to make a fourth film for a long time. I don’t blame him because this film was really bad. They tried to make a TV show, but that didn’t work. Just don’t watch this film if you don’t want to be tortured. Save yourself from this misery of a sequel.

Look out next week when we look at the latest and much awaited sequel in the finale of “Beverly Hills Cop Month.”

Beverly Hills Cop II

Something has gone completely wrong. They made the wrong sequel. The original “Beverly Hills Cop” was the screenplay written for Sylvester Stallone, but filmed with Eddie Murphy as the protagonist. After it was such a success, the idea was that “Beverly Hills Cop II,” released in 1987, would be a real Eddie Murphy movie, with more comedy and fewer guns and chases.

Roger Ebert pointed out in his review, “Alas, Part 2 seems even more like a Stallone vehicle than the first movie. I'm not even sure it's intended as a comedy. It's filled wall to wall with the kind of routine action and violence that Hollywood extrudes by the yard and shrink-wraps to order. But the sequel makes no particular effort to be funny, and actually seems to take its ridiculous crime plot seriously - as if we cared.”

There’s a major problem with the movie. Eddie Murphy is not likable in the sequel. He now is an arrogant loudmouth. A little of him goes a long way. Ebert mentioned, “Somehow they've lost track of their original appealing idea, which was that a smart, funny street cop from Detroit would waltz into Beverly Hills and deflate the Porsche-and-sunglasses set.” Doesn’t work that way this time.

Murphy’s idea of a funny scene in this movie is to yell a lot at people in a harsh, angry voice. There’s a scene where he visits the Playboy Mansion and shouts at the receptionist, and you want to just turn off the movie. Murphy appears to be the problem rather than the solution.

Ebert asked, “What is comedy? That's a pretty basic question, I know, but "Cop II" never thought to ask it. Doesn't comedy usually center around a series of surprises based on insights into human nature? Let's assume that everyone in Beverly Hills is obsessed with money, power, possessions and social status. Let's further assume that a black cop from Detroit rides into town and doesn't give a darn for their effete values and conspicuous consumption, and cuts through the nonsense like a knife through butter. That would be funny. It is, however, an idea the "Beverly Hills Cop" movies have been unable to fully exploit after two tries. Instead, Murphy and his associates make the fatal error of assuming that the way you deal with jerks is to be a bigger jerk.”

For what producers Don Simpson and Jerry Bruckheimer probably paid for the screenplay for this movie, they should have been able to get a new one. The plot of this sequel is recycled from other mindless, basic, modern, high-tech movie. It’s not even a plot. It’s a series of usual scenarios, with The Chase, The Powerful Men of Evil, The Hot Material Woman, The Hit Men, and The Shootout. (The Chase has a cement truck, and it proves, hands down, that cement trucks do not work very well in chases.)

Ebert admitted, “I'm an Eddie Murphy fan. I think that on a good day, he is capable of being funnier than anybody else in the movies right now. I was one of the admirers of "The Golden Child," his comedy from last Christmas, which plugged him into a cheerfully ridiculous plot, and made him a lovable character who was doggedly trying to endure a series of exotic dangers. I also like Murphy when he's street-smart and capable, as in "48 Hrs.," (1982).”

Ebert continued, “What I don't like is the unstated assumption, in "Cop II," that Murphy is funny by definition, and that anybody who gets in his way is a fool. Maybe Murphy should study some of those old "I Love Lucy" episodes where Lucy gets into situations she can't handle: She's up against a snooty headwaiter in a stuck-up restaurant, let's say. What does she do? Scream at the guy? No, she always finds a way to deflate the guy simply by remaining true to her own character and insisting on being treated as a human being.”

That’s what’s missing in this sequel. We aren’t against the way the villains in Beverly Hills want to treat Murphy, because, sadly, he’s a bigger jerk. Obviously, because he’s the protagonist, no one else in the story is allowed to put hands on him. However, here’s an interesting idea. The movie might have been funnier if they had reversed every situation and made Foley the punchline of the jokes.

With Dean Stockwell, Brigitte Nielsen, and Jurgen Prochnow playing the villains, you would think they would make the film interesting, but they don’t. Chris Rock was even shoved into a scene here, and this was one of his first roles. You can tell how bad of a sequel it is, especially when inserting Hugh Hefner’s Playboy Mansion in this sequel. Murphy felt like he was doing everything he was supposed to and the supporting cast wasn’t helping him. You can’t just make the comedian protagonist do all the work and not do anything yourself. Everyone has to do their part, and no one was. I own this movie on VHS, and this was a disappointing sequel. Especially since this came out the same year as Murphy’s stand-up “Raw.” Don’t see this sequel, you will hate it.

Next week, we will be looking at the absolute worst in the series in “Beverly Hills Cop Month.” Sorry for the late response. I was going to write the review before I was called to go out for a late night snack.

Beverly Hills Cop

Since the latest film in this franchise has finally been released on Netflix after years of talking for another sequel, this month will be dedicated to the “Beverly Hills Cop” franchise, starting with the first film, released in 1984.

Mike Massie started out his review by crediting, “Beverly Hills Cop” is, arguably, comedian Eddie Murphy’s finest film, brilliantly combining his improvisational wisecracking and infectious laugh with murder-mystery mayhem, adventure, unlikely sidekicks, and a hip techno soundtrack that would become the production’s trademark. Full of wild stunts, fast-talking comedy, and a slew of hilarious supporting characters, this surprise hit (especially considering it was originally a project for Sylvester Stallone) would spawn two sequels and is easily one of the most enjoyable of the abundant buddy-cop action films of the ‘80s.” This was also nominated for Best Screenplay Oscar (maybe for the countless improvisational lines) and was directed by Martin Brest before his career shattered due to “Gigli.”

Massie noted, “Detroit detective Axel Foley (Eddie Murphy) uses his loud mouth and in-your-face persuasiveness to go undercover in dangerous stings. The opening scene demonstrates his ability to stay quick on his feet and concoct plans on the fly – skills that find him hanging from the swinging back doors of a delivery truck as it careens down busy streets and demolishes half of the city during a particularly impressive, stunt-filled chase sequence.” Shortly after getting yelled at by his commanding officer (Gilbert R. Hill) for the large amount of property destruction, Foley’s friend Mikey Tandino (James Russo) visits him after a six-month jail sentence. The two were childhood friends, both frequently getting into trouble before Axel realized his love for fighting crime. However, Mikey hasn’t completely stopped the crimes and his involvement in a German bearer bond conspiracy ends in a professional hitman (Jonathan Banks and Michael Champion) shooting him down.

Livid, Axel takes a vacation to Beverly Hills to get to the bottom of a murder he is told not to get involved in. the clues given by his longtime friend and gallery employee Jenny Summers (Lisa Eilbacher) lead him to a top United States art dealer named Victor Maitland (Steven Berkoff), who has Axel civilly thrown out of a window to be unfairly arrested for public disturbance. Tough police lieutenant Andre Bogomil, played by Ronny Cox, isn’t pleased to find out Foley is ruining his town. He orders detectives Billy Rosewood (Judge Reinhold) and John Taggart (John Ashton) to take the Detroit detective and eventually escort him out of the city limits – but Axel wins over the two cops and convinces them to help him catch the evil Maitland.

Massie noted, “Although Murphy is a one-man-army comedian, the chemistry between Foley, Rosewood, and Taggart truly makes the movie hilarious. Foley continually marches into hazardous situations but uses jokes for defense and impersonations to infiltrate enemy bases; a shotgun in the face doesn’t faze him and, despite plenty of assassins and gunmen, he just won’t die.” Hilariously, his sense of humor protects him. However, even when several of his jokes fail (the sheer amount orders that some won’t work), the supporting characters are always there to pick up the slack. Also, some of it unexpectedly comes from non-important roles like Bronson Pinchot as the thickly accented and yet ethnically unidentifiable Sarge.

This is one of the funniest movies ever made. I saw this as a rental from the library. If you haven’t seen it yet, go see it on Netflix. For a movie that originally was supposed to star Sylvester Stallone, who actually wanted to do “Cobra” and they wanted to make this movie funny, Murphy quite possibly brought his most memorable character. He even said that when he goes overseas, kids know him as Axel Foley. You will love this movie a lot, especially when this came out around the time Murphy released his stand-up “Delirious.”

Look out next week when I talk about the first sequel in “Beverly Hills Cop Month.” Sorry for the late posting. I laid down and didn’t realize I fell asleep.