This review was made possible by an advance screening of Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F. Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F releases on Netflix on July 3, 2024.
Eddie Murphy is finally back as Axel Foley in the fourth Beverly Hills Cop film, which has found its place on Netflix’s streaming service instead of being a theatrical release like the past three films. Beverly Hills Cop is a franchise that truly thrived in the 80’s, with the first film breaking records at the box office in 1984 with it being the highest-grossing movie and gaining nominations at prestigious award ceremonies such as the Golden Globes and Academy Awards. The second film also gained similar praise, but it all went downhill with the third film.
This evidently caused the fourth film to be stuck in limbo, switching from a film to a television show, where we get introduced to Axel’s son, who would’ve been played by Brandon T. Jackson. Finally, the next instalment has come to fruition in the form of the fourth film, and it seems like they decided to still have Axel Foley have a child, but this time a daughter.
Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F follows Axel Foley (Eddie Murphy), forty years after his first case in Beverly Hills. He’s brought back after finding out that his estranged daughter, Jane Saunders (Taylour Paige), has had her life threatened. He meets old faces such as John Taggart (John Ashton) and teams up with new faces, such as Bobby Abbott (Joseph Gordon-Levitt).
Eddie Murphy Brings The Energy Back To ‘Beverly Hills Cop’
Netflix is known for taking films that started off as theatrical releases, such as Knives Out, Chicken Run, and Shaft, and then releasing their sequels on their platform. I’d argue that Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F deserved a theatrical release, especially with how well Bad Boys did with its return, but Bad Boys never had the negative backlash that Beverly Hills Cop 3 brought with it. It’s hard to dictate if this is even a film people want to see right now, and I was debating it myself: what purpose does a Beverly Hills Cop sequel serve when it feels like they’ve done it all?
Well, Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F proves that they haven’t done it all and that there are so many cases for Axel and co to tackle. All it takes for a Beverly Hills Cop film to be good is to simply have it be fun, with Eddie Murphy taking control of Axel Foley and bringing that classic humour that we’ve all missed from the original two films.
This film is just filled with so much life thanks to Eddie Murphy, who was allowed to give it his all with Axel, and this is the type of film where the performance of the lead could make or break the rest of the film. If Eddie’s having fun, the rest of the cast is having fun, and that becomes clear once you’ve actually watched this film series.
Old And New Faces Are Spotted In Beverly Hills
What lacked in the sequels to Beverly Hills Cop was a genuinely good villain that was just fun to watch, and Kevin Bacon brings that back to the table. This film understands the tone it’s trying to go for, and while it might seem like Cade Grant’s reveal as the villain is supposed to happen later in the film, they make it clear as day from his very first scene in the film when he meets Axel at the precinct. I’ve never watched a film where the actor made it so obvious that they were the bad guy, from the way he stood to the way he delivered his lines. He’s truly a standout in this film, and it’s unfortunate he wasn’t as prominent throughout the first act, as I feel like it could’ve made for some iconic scenes between him and Murphy.
We get a few returning faces from the original 1984 movie, with Judge Reinhold back as Billy Rosewood, John Ashton back as John Taggart, Paul Reiser back as Jeffrey Friedman, and possibly the true star of Beverly Hills Cop (1984) and Beverly Hills Cop 3, Bronson Pinchot as Serge. What’s so great about each of their returns is that it didn’t feel lacklustre or a way to bait people with nostalgia; they all play a significant role in the movie, bringing their charisma to the screen and just helping this film feel whole with its humour, drama, and action.
Alongside the returning characters, there were some new characters, such as Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Bobby Abbott and Taylour Paige as Jane Saunders. Bobby was at first a character that truly felt forced into this film, and it was hard to see how they could play any important role in the film aside from having a past with Jane. The film instantly proves me wrong by pairing up Gordon-Levitt with Eddie Murphy, and they’re a pairing I want to see more of. They deliver one of the best scenes in the film that features a helicopter; not only was it hysterical, but it was chaotic, and that’s the nature and energy that need to be brought to a Beverly Hills Cop movie.
On the other hand, we have Jane Saunders, Axel Foley’s daughter, who has been missing from his life for countless years. This makes for an interesting story between them, but the film seemingly seems to forget that Jane shouldn’t be happy with her father, and though there’s a moment where that truly takes shape and form, it feels like the writing made Jane enjoy being around her father. This could be something that I’ve misunderstood from the writing, but for a first watch, it seemed odd and felt like they didn’t know what to do with Jane Saunders. Even by the end of the film, I still wish she felt more included with the team.
‘Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F’ – Final Thoughts
Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F is a great return to form for the series and is easily the second-best film out of the four. Eddie Murphy returns with the same contagious energy he brought from the first two films, having hilarious and outrageous scenes with several of his co-stars, some old and some new. It’s fast-paced, it’s hilarious, it’s action-packed, and it’s stunning. This is the sequel that we’ve always wanted, and we’ve finally got it. With the return of Jerry Bruckheimer as producer and Eddie Murphy at his best, we truly get a film that never stops shining, and if this is the level of quality we’ll be getting, then I’m happy for another sequel.
Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F releases on Netflix on July 3, 2024. Check out the trailer below.
