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.”