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.