BEVERLY HILLS COP: AXEL F
(director: Mark Molloy; screenwriters: story by Will Beal, Will Beal, Tom Gormican, Kevin Etten, characters by Danilo Bach & Daniel Petrie Jr.; cinematographer: Edward Grau; editor: Dan Lebenthal; music: Lorne Balfe, Harold Faltermeyer; cast: Eddie Murphy (Axel Foley), Joseph Gordon-Levitt (Detective Bobby Abbott), Taylour Paige (Jane Saunders), Judge Reinhold (Billy Rosewood), John Ashton (Chief John Taggart), Paul Reiser (Deputy Chief Jeffrey Friedman), Kevin Bacon (Captain Cade Grant), Luis Guzman (Chalino Valdemoro), Bronson Pinchot (Serge); Runtime: 115; MPAA Rating: R; producers: Jerry Bruckheimer, Chad Oman, Eddie Murphy; Netflix; 2024)
“So-so sequel that’s low on ideas but high on nostalgia.”
Reviewed by Dennis Schwartz
First timer Mark Molloy adequately helms this so-so sequel that’s low on ideas but high on nostalgia, that comes 40 years after its original hit production in 1984 and 30 years after a few bad sequels. The original film made Eddie Murphy a superstar. This version is based on a story by Will Beal, and is scripted by Beal, Tom Gormican, and Kevin Etten.
Axel Foley (Eddie Murphy) is a wise-ass cop in Detroit. His Beverly Hills pal Billy Rosewood (Judge Reinhold) calls to tell him his estranged L.A. defense attorney daughter Jane (Taylour Paige) has been attacked by thugs because she’s the defense attorney for an alleged cop-killer she argues was framed. Foley returns to Beverly Hills to protect her, and reunites with his Beverly Hills policeman pal, now the police chief, John Taggart (John Ashton).
The Beverly Hills cop Bobby Aaron (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), Jane’s ex-boyfriend, believes it’s likely the dirty narc cop, Grant (Kevin Bacon), has something to do with the attack on Jane. Bobby thereby teams with Axel to investigate, while he also tries to improve his relationship with his daughter by getting closer to her.
The film strains to be both a serious crime drama and a comedy. It gives the seemingly ageless Eddie Murphy the opportunity to be again the endearing, off-the-wall, crowd pleasing cop in the Detroit Lions jacket, who breaks the police conduct rules to do his cop business and fire off one-line zingers at will. The problem is his old hat comedy routine might still be funny at times, but the film has lost some of its punch and seems stale without any fresh ideas.
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REVIEWED ON 7/17/2024 GRADE: C+