BEVERLY HILLS COP: AXEL F - 2024
Directed by Mark Molloy
Starring Eddie Murphy, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Taylour Paige, John Ashton, Kevin Bacon, Paul Reiser, Bronson Pinchot, Nasim Pedrad, Luis Guzman, Kyle More, Mark Pellegrino, and Judge Reinhold
Genre: Action Comedy (Audio clip)
This was fun....a pretty solid approximation of your typical '80's action comedy with a few modern trappings including its length. This movie didn't need to be two hours long (the first two 'Cops both topped out at around 100 minutes) - you could probably excise one action sequence - but I still found it to be very entertaining with several laughs most of which land, some surprisingly muscular action sequences, and a good amount of heart. 🤗 Eddie has aged nicely into this more mature version of Detroit cop Axel Foley....but not so much that he (and we, the audience) is still not having fun.
The overall story is a BIT more convoluted than it needs to be but that's ok when all of the major players are clear and (for the most part) are given entertaining stuff to do. It's all just mainly an excuse to bring Foley back to Beverly Hills and it's to the screenplay's credit (from Tom Gormican, who gave us the solid Nicholas Cage meta-action comedy from a couple of years ago....The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent) that the plot machinations to bring the Cop back to Beverly Hills feel more organic than any previous 'Cop sequel. In fact, the stack is SO decked at this point - Axel's only daughter is here and she's referring to both Rosewood and Taggert as "Uncle" - you kinda wonder as to why he just hasn't decided to stay here at this point. 😄 Well as Kevin Bacon's Captain Grant comiserates, the local housing costs ARE quite high.....
Speaking of Bacon, he's not doing anything ground-breaking here but he still delivers good villain - he's slick, sharply dressed, gravelly voiced and has a few strong interactions with Murphy along the way. Almost by default, he MIGHT be the best villain this franchise has had so far even though I'll always have a soft spot for Victor Mateland played by then-PEAK Steven Berkoff in the first movie. Actually everyone in the cast is doing their jobs including the two other main new additions: Taylour Paige (Zola...yes SHE was Zola) as Axel's estranged daughter Jane who's also a local defense attorney and JGL as Bobby, the local BV cop whom Axel teams up about a third of the way into the movie. Both actors give solid performances mostly playing things relatively straight, also having good chemistry with Murphy. There are also several fun little acid turns from Luis Guzman, Nasim Pedrad, Christopher McDonald (who MIGHT be reprising Shooter McGavin even if he's just credited as "Golfer") and especially comedian/rapper Affion Crockett whom I had never seen before but am now curious about. 🤔 His parking valet has one VERY funny exchange with Axel late in the movie....
And gratefully, the returning players are having fun too: Bronson Pinchot's Serge, Paul Reiser's Jeffrey (now Axel's Captain even though he's STILL a conplete pushover decades later) and of course....the vaunted pairing of John Ashton (his Taggert is now the local police chief) and Judge Reinhold as Rosewood, now a private detective.
Back to Eddie….he also still holds his own in the action department especially given that EVERYTHING filmed here by first-time (!) director Mark Molloy is practical and in camera....ESPECIALLY one particular sequence which I’ll get to in just a bit.
Best Needle drop (best song cue or score used throughout runtime of film):
Oh and of course there's the MUSIC which next to Eddie’s return is the best aspect of this movie. ;) Composer Lorne Balfe takes over from Harold Faultemyer with a synth-heavy score which does a nice job of bringing back melodies from the first two movies, also adding a couple of catchy new ones..... it’s a GENUINELY good score which rivals the quality of the first two movies. (Audio clip)
Infact, the whole soundscape for this movie – including SEVERAL recycled needle-drops from the first two ‘Cop films – just feels like a VERY warm comfort blanket…including a nice callback to the catchy Bob Seger rocker which opened Beverly Hills Cop II….which we hear during the opening snowplow-chase-through-Detroit of tis movie. (Audio clip)
But of course – in line with the title of this sequel – one genuine musical highlight of tis particular entry involves making good use of the iconic "Axel F" theme. (Audio clip)
And even beyond that, Balfe introduces one distinct NEW melody into the score which is not only convincingly retro-sounding with a great mixture of synth, sax, and electric guitar but pretty catchy on its own – we hear it at least twice throughout the film, this track is FITTINGLY called “Axel’s Return. “ (Audio clip)
Wasted Talent (most under-utilized talent involved with film):
Now back to Taggert and Rosewood…..It's a JOY to see these guys back as they were such highlights of the first two Cop movies...they still have fun back-and-forth's with each other AMD Murphy too. But if I'm being honest....Reinhold (who was always one of my ‘80’s favorites) is disappointingly barely in the movie, I would have loved a bit more. :(
Trailer Moment (scene or moment that best describes this movie):
Now consider me a bit bummed that both the trailer AND Netflix’ YouTube channel did a lot to spoil this sequence somewhat but regardless….we’re about 80 minutes in with both Axel and Bobby taken into custody by Bacon’s villainous captain at an LA police station. Thanks to some clever derring-do on Axel’s part, they’re both able to escape being held and stealthily but almost inexplicably, Alex leads them to the roof of the station but why? (Audio clip)
Well Axel DID observe earlier spotting some photos on Bobby’s desk that he USED to be a helicopter pilot for the LAPD….oh OF COURSE! And what results is not only some fun freaked out back-and-forth between Eddie and JGL (who himself has always had good comic timing) but a pretty inventive helicopter chase all filmed practically leading to at least ONE pretty memorable image…..of this helicopter flying forward on a crowded street with one cop car chasing it RIGHT in the very next lane! (Audio clip)
MVP (person or people most responsible for the success of this film):
At the end of the day, it's still very much The Eddie Show and he just does not disappoint. This FEELS very much like a natural progression of the wise-cracking cop - only 30 to 40 years later - as he keeps his tone light most of the time but still grounds the story with genuine concern whenever necessary. It's just a kick to spend time with this guy. For a nice return to form with arguably his most iconic character, Eddie Murphy is the MVP.
Final Rating: 4 stars out of 5
Do I wish I could have seen this in theaters? Of COURSE....but at least props to Netflix for allowing Eddie, producer Bruckheimer, and crew to take their time to properly develop this into something worthy of its title and to provide them with the necessary resources (apparently this cost over $100 mill but all of the money is up there on the screen) to craft a relatively authentic-feeling throwback action comedy. It's not on the level of the first BHC but compares pretty favorably with 'Cop II.
Streaming on Netflix
And that ends another MISPENT YOUTH review!
