Beverly Hills Cop 4 On paper, it’s a terrible idea. Indeed, the 1984 action comedy and its sequel Beverly Hills Cop 2 It became a big hit, Saturday Night LiveEddie Murphy of 1994’s Beverly Hills Cop 3 was a massive flop with critics and audiences, effectively putting the series on hold for 30 years. On top of that, the concept of this hilarious series – an arrogant cop solving crimes while telling crude jokes and breaking all the rules – is now potentially problematic. With countless news headlines about police brutality and callousness, how do you bring Axel Foley back to modern audiences? Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F. Here’s how.
Myself, Beverly Hills Cop 4 It’s nothing to moan about, so I’m happy to tell you I was wrong. Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F. It’s outstanding.
Eddie Murphy is great as usual as Axel Foley.
Credit: Melinda Sue Gordon / Netflix
Axel still knows how to outwit a villain and deliver a punchline. Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F. The film effectively proves this with a stirring opening sequence at a hockey arena. Sitting with his white coworkers, Axel talks about hockey, telling irreverent jokes in his signature fast-talking style. The difference here is that instead of using worn-out stereotypes, this Axel just lashes out, mocking white fragility. Rather than feeling like a compromise in fear of cancel culture, these jokes underpin the undercurrent of his journey. Axel has always resisted power structures, whether it be wealthy white men who feel they are above the law or a police chief who thinks public relations is more important than public safety. So it makes sense that as he gets older, his humor increasingly reinforces this previously established ideology.
Writers Will Beall, Tom Gormican and Kevin Etten set up the pins with keen awareness, and Murphy knocks them down forcefully with his trademark smile and deft comedic timing. Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F., Before any action had even happened I already had a huge grin on my face – it’s incredible how the writers have so cleverly strategized this too.
Action movies featuring older stars often use awkward cuts to avoid showing how their bodies and athleticism have changed. Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F. Axel is too smart to slow down. At 63, Murphy can’t run around like he did 30 years ago, so the writers come up with a clever, comedic solution: hijacking increasingly ridiculous vehicles. Axel jumps from a snowplow to a meter-man’s trolley to a helicopter, each setting more of an opportunity for a visual gag than a dodge, like getting pepper-sprayed by a meter-man. Plus, each of these choices serves as a reminder that Axel is still as resourceful as ever. Luckily, Murphy isn’t the only one who shines in his return.
Axel F Paul Reiser, John Ashton, Judge Reinhold and Bronson Pinchot will be reuniting.
Credit: Melinda Sue Gordon/Netflix
The premise of this fourth film follows a familiar framework: An unsolved crime lands one of Axel’s loved ones in trouble, dragging him to Beverly Hills to investigate on his own. The feel-good setup allows Reiser, Ashton and Reinhold to reprise their roles as Axel’s embattled cop buddies; Reiser and Ashton have been promoted and now have desk jobs and are the loudmouths that Axel lashes out at, while Billy (Reinhold) is a private investigator chasing clues that lead to his disappearance.
Mashable Top Stories
It’s hard to deny the nostalgic excitement of seeing this band back together — Ashton is once again gruff yet lovable, Reinhold is chaotic yet sweet, and Reiser radiates teeth-gritting love even when Axl is tormenting him terribly — but what had me literally screaming with excitement was the return of Bronson Pinchot as Serge, an unexpected breakout character who’s grown into much more than a cheesy gag about some kind of flamboyant LA guy.
Director Mark Molloy weaves in some great montages of the extravagant insanity of Los Angeles, including one in which a dog wearing pearls is hand-fed sushi at an outdoor eatery. But Serge has enough flair to wrap all this absurdity into one flashy, endearing package. Pinchot’s inscrutable accent and crackling comedic chemistry with Murphy make this one of the funniest scenes in the film, and Nasim Pedrad plays the over-sharing real estate agent in part because of it. Here, the energy of the fancy mansion takes on a spontaneity that turns absurd scenes into tennis matches and jokes so hard and fast you might choke up from laughing. But Pedrad isn’t the only memorable new character in the film. Axel F.
Taylour Paige and Joseph Gordon-Levitt Axel FAn important dramatic development.
Credit: Melinda Sue Gordon / Netflix
Surprisingly, what sets this fourth movie apart is a plot that sounds painfully hackneyed: Axel rescues his grown-up kid as he seeks justice and takes on a nasty crime syndicate. But far from being a shoddy attempt to make the franchise work for a younger generation, the writers have introduced Axel’s lawyer daughter, Jane (Taylor Paige), who works pro bono for suspected “cop killers.” Tensions between this cop father and public defender daughter often come to a head, a vulnerability that is expertly played by Axel’s nemesis, a slick, growling LA cop (Kevin Bacon). But it’s not their ideological differences that are most moving here, but the painfully common frustrations between father and daughter.
Axel may be the best at finding clues, but he has no idea how to reconnect with his estranged daughter. Rather than playing a poor imitation of Murphy’s iconic character, Page plays herself as the headstrong heroine with a soft spot for her father. The debate over who is to blame for the rift between them rings true, recognizing not only the careless ways family members hurt each other but also the differences in how millennials and baby boomer parents communicate their feelings. Axel is quick to joke, but Jane is unblinkingly forthright, and her ex-boyfriend, a young detective (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), chastises him with firm but empathetic tones.
The villain of this movie is that the “current situation” is anything These characters prove that it’s not what you say that matters anymore, but how you say it. And it’s frankly refreshing to see a comedy that can hold this distinction together and still be incredibly funny. Even better, these newcomers aren’t treated as accusatory nags when it comes to the film’s action or comedy. Though they often play Axel’s straight man, Page and Gordon-Levitt shine alongside Axel, whether he’s glaring at his nemesis or delivering laugh-out-loud embarrassing reactions.
It all comes together piece by piece to create a masterfully crafted sequel that explores the best parts of the original trilogy while introducing new elements that give it new life and importance. The soundtrack continues this approach, mixing classic rock tracks like “The Heat Is On” and “Shakedown” with new songs like Coi Leray’s “Players” and the film’s theme song, “Here We Go!” by Lil Nas X. All of this combines to create a film that’s both classically fun and freshly exciting.
lastly, Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F. is not only a great sequel and a great action-comedy, it might just be the funniest movie of the year. If you can see it in the theater, do it. If you’re watching it at home, like most people, turn up the volume and let the theme tune soak you up and let yourself be welcomed back into the world of Axel Foley and company.
Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F. It will premiere on Netflix and in select theaters on July 3rd.
