Movie review: 'Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F" faithful to Eddie Murphy franchise
LOS ANGELES, July 2 (UPI) -- Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F, on Netflix on Wednesday, is mostly what one might expect a 2024 Beverly Hills Cop movie to be. It's far more faithful to the series than III, with some clever action and fun Eddie Murphy bits.
Axel Foley (Murphy) is now a hero to rookie Detroit cops who get to partner-up with him. After Foley catches some crooks in an elaborate action sequence, he gets a call from former Beverly Hills cop Billy Rosewood (Judge Reinhold).
Rosewood has been helping Foley's daughter, Jane Saunders (Taylour Paige), a lawyer who is defending a framed convict pro bono. Though estranged, Foley travels to California for the fourth time to find out who is threatening Jane to drop the case.
As vehicles for Murphy, the Beverly Hills Cop movies were all generic cop movies that were memorable because of the way Murphy navigated cliche situations. Axel F doesn't try to pretend he's still a 20-something hot shot, but he's still the same irreverent rebel, and it makes sense he has a daughter now that he's in his 50s.
There are several chases with Foley commandeering unusual vehicles, including a low-flying helicopter in Beverly Hills. There is some impressive stunt work on location, though photographed perhaps more traditionally by director Mark Molloy than directors Martin Brest and Tony Scott captured in the first two films.
Foley launches into a routine every time he meets a new character from whom he needs information. None of the new situations results in lines as quotable as those in the first film, but it's still Axel Foley and Murphy still commits to the bits.
Foley plays to the ego of an employee at an impound lot to get help. Jane is good at joining in the ruse to get past other gatekeepers.
When Jane and Foley are alone, he's not smart-assing his daughter. He's genuinely trying to connect with her, but he's tried to toughen her up and she doesn't appreciate his bravado either as a policeman or a hustler.
Axel F definitely plays the hits, though. Montages and action sequences are set to "The Heat Is On," "Shakedown" and "Neutron Dance," the hit singles from the first two films.
In addition to Rosewood, supporting characters like Jeffrey (Paul Reiser), Taggart (John Ashton) and even Serge (Bronson Pinchot) show up. Foley and Serge repeat their famous banter from the first film twice.
The best reference to previous movies is actually the shade thrown on Beverly Hills Cop III.
New characters keep up with the veterans. Beverly Hills detective Abbott (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) is investigating the same case. Captain Grant (Kevin Bacon) is there to dutifully provide exposition and move the plot along.
There is a missed opportunity to observe what Beverly Hills has become in 2024. Foley observes the modern citizenry as he drives through the city, but doesn't comment upon how different it looks from 1984.
Foley still has fun investigating an otherwise predictable case, which amounts to finding an SD card with the evidence that will prove Jane's case. He also is sincere about reconnecting with Jane.
As revivals of beloved characters go, Axel F is hardly as monumental as Top Gun: Maverick, nor is it as dire as the last two Ghostbusters. Another action comedy franchise may be the more apt comparison, and Axel F is far more true to its source than the latest Bad Boys.
Fred Topel, who attended film school at Ithaca College, is a UPI entertainment writer based in Los Angeles. He has been a professional film critic since 1999, a Rotten Tomatoes critic since 2001, and a member of the Television Critics Association since 2012 and the Critics Choice Association since 2023. Read more of his work in Entertainment.
