Review - Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F
The heat's back on.
Watching the latest entry in the Beverly Hills Cop franchise is like watching a once-great band reunite. They don’t have the same spring in their steps and are only there to play the greatest hits, but those hits were the greatest for a reason, and every once in a while you get a glimpse of the magic that made them so big in the first place.
Eddie Murphy comfortably slips back into the Detroit Lions jacket for an entry that never hits the heights of Martin Brest’s original but is also a vast improvement over the lifeless Beverly Hills Cop 3 (I might even slightly prefer it to Beverly Hills Cop 2). This time, the Detroit detective returns to the West Coast when he learns that his estranged daughter (Taylour Paige) and old buddy Billy Rosewood (Judge Reinhold) have fallen on the bad side of some dirty cops. To the chagrin of his partner (Paul Reiser), Axel heads back to California, immediately landing on the bad side of BHPD captain – and his old friend – Taggart (John Ashton) and a police legend (Kevin Bacon) who’s turned crooked.
I’m pretty exhausted with belated sequels that turn charismatic heroes into despondent failures, so, right off the bat, it’s good to see that Axel hasn’t changed. The film opens with a fun montage of Foley driving through Detroit, and it’s clear that the locals are aware of their hometown legend. An early scene at a Red Wings game that Foley has invited himself to in order to foil a robbery is a reminder that he’s still up to his rule-flouting, fast-talking ways.
After Beverly Hills Cop 3 torpedoed most good will for the franchise, it appears that the direction given to screenwriters Will Beal, Tom Gormican and Kevin Etten, as well as to director Mark Molloy, was to just do Beverly Hills Cop again. It follows that film’s formula to the letter, opening with an unrelated action sequence in Detroit, a montage of Axel staring in bemusement at Beverly Hills oddities, a number of close situations for Axel to talk himself out of, and a sprinkling of car chases and shootouts. Within the first 30 minutes, we not only get the return of Harold Faltermeyer’s iconic “Axel F” theme, but also needle drops for “The Heat is On,” “Shakedown” and “Neutron Dance.” Is it a shameless nostalgia grab? Sure; it also kind of works.
Murphy has spoken recently about his desire to do a fourth film because of the bad taste the third entry left in fans’ mouths – which wasn’t just the fault of director John Landis but also of Murphy himself, who seemed exhausted and completely disinterested. Murphy’s own career has been a series of start-and-stop comebacks, and it’s never clear whether he’s going to show up to play. But the instant he flashes that iconic grin and starts bullshitting to Reiser’s character about his involvement in yet another city-destroying action sequence, it’s clear he’s having fun again.
What both previous Beverly Hills Cop sequels lost sight of was that Axel wasn’t a superhero or just an Eddie Murphy quip machine. Murphy returns to treating Axel as a character who is loyal to his friends – I appreciate that he’s kept up with Rosewood over the years – and knows that his best tactic is often to charm people instead of pulling one over on them. I enjoyed the camaraderie between Murphy and Joseph Gordon-Levitt as a young cop, and there’s a great scene where Axel gets into an impound lot by schmoozing the wannabe actor at the desk instead of just blustering through. The movie also remembers that Axel is more than just Bugs Bunny; he’s a good detective able to squeeze himself out of situations the more polished Beverly Hills cops can’t.
Murphy has long since lost the live-wire energy that invigorated Beverly Hills Cop, and there are a few instances where he leans into the shtick and it feels a bit exhausted – Murphy seems to know it; at one point, he starts to launch into one of Axel’s schemes and then begs off because he’s too tired (it’s actually a pretty good joke). But when he’s just being breezy, Murphy can still charm, and much like the first film, the movie’s highlights are just watching him banter with his co-stars The drama between Axel and his daughter is maybe a tad rote, but it’s heartfelt and Murphy’s good at switching between the chastened father and the goofy dad trying. This Axel is truer to the original character than the lifeless asshole of Beverly Hills Cop 3 or the slick supercop of Beverly Hills Cop 2 and, if nothing else, this allows Murphy to close the book on his most iconic character in a more fitting way.
Murphy’s willingness to play ball energizes the supporting cast. Reinhold and Ashton – the latter of whom sat out the third entry – seem happy to step into their old characters again, and I particularly like Taggart’s constant grumbling about his ever-declining health and ever-irritating marriage. Reinhold is off screen for much of the film, but I like that Billy is still in awe of Axel and loves his firepower. Reinhold and Ashton share a few quick scenes and it’s fun to see them banter again, and if the film lacks much interplay between the three, it makes up for it with a coda that should delight fans. And yes, Bronson Pinchot is back as the flamboyant Serge, and the film wisely has an organic reason for including him and gets Pinchot in and out in a few minutes, making him a welcome addition but not overplaying him.
The new characters are a bit of a mixed bag. I understand giving Axel a daughter in the years between films, but I wish there was a bit more to Paige’s character than daddy issues. While I’m glad the film doesn’t bring in a big name to be Axel Jr. and attempt to go toe to toe with Murphy, the father-daughter moments are a bit pat, and tend to bog down the movie. And while I’m glad to see Gordon-Levitt back on screen, there isn’t much reason for his character’s existence other than to give Axel someone to bounce his shtick off – and I’d rather see him do that with Taggart and Rosewood. But Bacon, as the dirty cop behind it all, is a fantastic villain, and has a great time playing evil.
Jerry Bruckheimer returns as producer, and it’s easy to feel the Simpson/Bruckheimer influence in the slick, heightened cinematography; the over-the-top action pieces; the spot-on needle drops; and even the film-ending freeze frame. Molloy acquits himself well in the action scenes, particularly the opening snowplow chase, a sequence in an out-of-control helicopter and a climactic shootout that feels like it could fit right in at the end of the first film. After Tony Scott’s macho sequel and Landis’ flaccid third entry, Molloy returns the balance between humor and action, although he lacks Brest’s natural instincts with his actors and Scott’s knack for orchestrating chaos. The film plods and spins its wheels here and there, and trimming 20 minutes or so might have made it funnier and tad more energetic.
Do I wish Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F were better? Sure; I’d love it if Murphy still had his fastball and the film were just another adventure with Axel, Taggart and Rosewood (and Serge, of course). But I’ll be honest that I’m surprised I enjoyed it as much as I did. Yes, you’ve seen this done better (and also available right next to Axel F on Netflix), and yes it’s weaponizing nostalgia. But you’ve also seen it done much, much worse. It’s a pleasant, totally fine return for Axel Foley, and I’m glad Murphy got to go out on this one.
Related: Earlier this year, I watched the first three Beverly Hills Cop movies. If you are a paid subscriber, you can go back and read them in the archive!