‘Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F’- Film Review | The Heat Back On With This Popular Action-Comedy Franchise?

Sometimes, you wonder if a particular franchise will be brought back to life to introduce a new audience to a proper decades-old franchise. Here, veteran action producer Jerry Bruckheimer didn’t know it gained more attention in the early 2020s alone. We’ve seen how successful the last two Bad Boys entries were at the box office, and let’s not forget Top Gun: Maverick stands tall as an all-time masterpiece. So, why not test to see if the heat is still on 30 years later to see Eddie Murphy’s long-awaited return to perhaps his most iconic movie character in Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F, a legacy sequel I never thought would see the light of day being made.

What’s the Story: Since we last saw the wise-cracking cop Axel Foley (Murphy), he’s still running the streets of Detroit, Michigan, and it doesn’t seem things have changed when getting into trouble. Retirement isn’t part of the game, which is the opposite of what his pal Jeffery Friedman (Paul Reiser), now Chief of Police, is about to do. But when his estranged criminal defense attorney daughter, Jane Saunders (Taylour Paige), is threatened after taking on a case of a client she believes is innocent of killing a cop, leading to his old pal Billy Rosewood (Judge Reinhold), who’s now a PI, getting kidnapped, this brings Axel to take the trip back to Beverly Hills, California to figure out if there’s corruption within the city.

When talking about one of the best action comedies ever made, the original from 40 years ago, directed by Martin Brest, stands out among the greatest. Beverly Hills Cop was the film that made Murphy the superstar we know and love as Axel. It became the highest-grossing film of 1984 and earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Screenplay. I didn’t grow up watching it, but it’s so re-watchable. But with every great action movie comes sequels with diminishing returns. 1987’s Beverly Hills Cop II, directed by Tony Scott, got more action but not enough laughs. Then there was Beverly Hills Cop III, directed by John Landis, which was embarrassing and lacked any excitement when it took place in amusement. It was so bad not even producers Bruckheimer and Don Simpson didn’t want to get involved.

Making a fourth installment into a reality has been in development for decades. Since then, Adil & Bilall were previously attached to direct it, and the closest we have gotten to anything new in the franchise was a failed TV pilot. So, with Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F, now streaming on Netflix and directed by Mark Molloy, it knows it doesn’t stand a chance of surpassing the original. And though it won’t leave a perfect impression on longtime fans, even I can count this as a decent return to the series, and it’s at least more watchable than the third.

Its main star, Eddie Murphy, holds the Beverly Hills Cop series together. As a comedy idol I’ve admired since childhood, his role in the long-awaited fourth installment is a project I’ve been eagerly anticipating where he slips back into Axel Foley with no hesitation. While his recent streaming movies (You People, Coming 2 America) may not fully showcase his talents, it’s clear that this project is close to his heart. I can tell Murphy was having fun bringing this role back, and what you can tell in the difference between the first and now is how he tried to make Axel more mature and return to a city where things have changed in the police department. He’s definitely older, but he’s taking the same amount of risk to his job, whatever it takes. Just when we thought he would scheme his way into getting a hotel room, he’s just tired and paid for it, anyway. Still, that charisma and street-smart attitude elevate his performance, making him feel he cares about what’s happening to the character this time. And it helps that some of the strongest comedic moments come from him, helping out when half of the jokes didn’t get to me.

There’s not much Reinhold as Rosewood as I thought, but this brings back the dynamic between Axel and John Ashton’s John Taggart, taking on the no-nonsense Chief since Ronny Cox’s Bogomil probably retired. It wasn’t much of a surprise to see Serge (Bronson Pinchot) back and the best part is that his appearance didn’t feel pointless like last time. Regarding the new additions, Jordan Gordon-Levitt’s Detective Bobby Abbott made for the nice straight man when working alongside Murphy in their scenes. Plus, I just love seeing Gordon-Levitt in anything nowadays. But even though Taylour Paige might be the weakest newcomer based on certain scenes early on, there’s this nice chemistry with Murphy, trying to see Axel reconnect with his daughter with an emotional connection I don’t think we’ve experienced with him yet once we learn he tried to protect her and his ex-wife, but doesn’t want to be involved in his antics. Though there’s no denying there are shades of her father with Jane.

The overall vibe Malloy, in his feature directorial debut, handles here is about on par with those first two entries that don’t always have to take themselves seriously, and they look practical enough. His handling of the action feels almost old-fashioned with them and does not go completely over the top, as shown in the recent Bad Boys franchise. We all know Axel will destroy the city, but some entertaining set pieces mix the action and comedy well enough. Things starts on a solid note with a chase of Axel riding a snowplow in Detroit set to Bob Seger’s “Shakedown” and a hilarious helicopter sequence with him and Bobby later.

Does this sequel attempt to bring anything new to the table? Not really. The screenplay from Will Beall, Tom Gormican, and Kevin Etten doesn’t go for much originality during this fourth round, which coasts on your nostalgia, including playing Glenn Frey’s “The Heat is On” during the opening credits. You already know how it’ll turn out if you’re very familiar with the others, resulting in being predictable with the formula within a crime subplot that goes back and forth with my interest. Even the first appearance of a character lets you know early on they’re the bad guy, and it’s also based on the casting of Kevin Bacon as the maybe crooked captain to give us enough information to make his threatening.

If you go into this Axel F expecting a classic, you’ll be disappointed. By the end, I went along with the hijinks one would come to enjoy. I just started to notice sequels and Murphy doesn’t come out strong (besides Shrek 2). Yet, this is probably one that could earn a rewatch.

Even when it doesn’t always live up to what fans loved about the first, Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F makes for a mildly enjoyable sequel coasting on Eddie Murphy’s commitment with his return as the titular character. It’s a film you can see why it went to Netflix instead of releasing it in theaters since it might appeal more to older audiences who are familiar with the IP. It all depends on how well it would’ve done under Paramount. But if you’re one who didn’t mind the first two, it’s not a perfect return to form, but it gets the job done.