‘BEVERLY HILLS COP: AXEL F’ Review: Eddie Murphy Returns With Renewed Vigor

Courtney Howard // Film Critic

BEVERLY HILLS COP: AXEL F

Rated R, 1 hour and 55 minutes

Directed by: Mark Molloy

Starring: Eddie Murphy, Taylour Paige, Kevin Bacon, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Judge Reinhold, Paul Reiser, John Ashton, Bronson Pinchot, Damien Diaz

It’s been 37 long years since we last got a good BEVERLY HILLS COP film. Director Tony Scott and company delivered an all-timer of a sequel – one the franchise’s third film, director John Landis’ dead-on-arrival BEVERLY HILLS COP III, did not come close to touching  in quality. To say our hopes for another fantastic follow-up were dashed feels like an understatement. However, director Mark Molloy clearly also felt that sting and now, with BEVERLY HILLS COP: AXEL F, sets things right again. Though not exactly perfect, it’s hugely entertaining and infinitely re-watchable, understanding on a fundamental level how this series soars given the right equation of genuinely funny comedy, propulsive action and superstar engagement with the material.

When we first reunite with Axel Foley (Eddie Murphy), he’s back at his usual incorrigible,  destructive antics in Detroit, tracking down a criminal ring attempting to rob an arena during a hometown hockey game. Since he’s on suspension, he’s finagled mild-mannered colleague Mike (Kyle S. More) to be his fall guy all whilst three nostalgic needle drops on the soundtrack accompanying these hilarious hijinks, announcing our beloved hero is back, baby! Yet Foley’s got unresolved issues in his past summoning him back to Beverly Hills. His pal Billy Rosewood (Judge Reinhold) is caught up in an undercover investigation gone wrong and desperately needs his pal’s help. And, at the encouragement of his soon-to-be-retired deputy chief  Jeffrey Friedman (Paul Reiser), Foley returns to the land of police and plastic phonies – and with a franchise high Rodeo Drive montage to boot.

Foley’s visit also intersects with a visit with his estranged daughter Jane Saunders (Taylour Paige). She’s a fancy Beverly Hills defense lawyer, whose tip-off by Rosewood has gifted her with a new client, Sam Enriquez (Damien Diaz), and a bunch of problems. Though he maintains his innocence, the kid’s been jailed for killing a cop, found with the murder weapon in his lap and car trunk full of cocaine. This, of course, rings as suspicious to everyone but former-cop-turned-narcotics-task-force-captain Cade Grant (Kevin Bacon), whose slippery demeanor and designer wardrobe attracts Foley’s attention. Still, it’s not until Rosewood turns up missing along with surveillance footage on an SD card and when Jane’s life is threatened does this investigation kick into full gear.

Molloy, along with screenwriters Will Beall, Tom Gormican and Kevin Etten (the latter two having experience delivering smarts and shine to their leading men in THE UNBEARABLE WEIGHT OF MASSIVE TALENT), expertly weave all the nostalgic nods, making them work like gangbusters. Trademark to this franchise, all baddies immediately identify themselves through their wardrobe and behavior. They use callbacks to familiar lines of dialogue (“You can never have too much firepower”) and situational circumstances (everything involving Serge (Bronson Pinchot, who kills it every time) to further their own original sparkling contributions (Nasim Pedrad, who plays a flighty real estate agent, is a godsend). It’s also a thrill to see Murphy engaging with the material, turning on Foley’s charismatic “on” switch once again.

Action sequences are propulsive, keeping character personalities and comedy at the forefront. These are well-conceived shootouts that places characters’ interplay in between the bullet fire and choreography. Composer Lorne Balfe brilliantly interpolates Harold Faltermeyer’s score with his own compositions, carrying themes and notes throughout the soundscape, paying homage to classic and contemporary soundtrack selections. And props to the random Christopher McDonald cameo as an unnamed golfer that astute audiences will automatically assume is Shooter McGavin/ shared universe with HAPPY GILMORE.

Narratively, it’s refreshingly innovative to see Axel evolving as a person, specifically as a father learning to actually step into a parental role. In addition to his usual beloved hilarious shenanigans and hijinks utilizing his patented quick-thinking wit and skills, he’s maturing in real time when it comes to listening to his daughter. It’s entertaining to see him extricate himself from sticky situations, physically slipping himself out of handcuffs, commandeering all sorts of vehicles (from a snowplow to a meter maid cart), and confidently fast-talking villainous, beefy henchmen.

That said, this comes at a cost to Jane’s arc, which is almost entirely dependent on her father, her ex-boyfriend detective Bobby Abbott (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) helping her father and her male client. Jane’s overarching goal is technically work-related and she does get to shoot a gun, looking like a badass doing it. But her main quest is sorting through daddy issues, becoming a stereotypical damsel in distress, as well as rekindling a romance with her ex-beau. 

It also falls prey to contrived oversights. BHPD Chief John Taggart (John Ashton) doesn’t care to help Billy – his partner of 30 years – until he suddenly does due to the 3^rd act climactic shootout needing him to be in the scene. He’s more concerned with his medications improperly mixing than rescuing one of his best buddies. He’s also involved in orchestrated conflict solely so Taggart can yell at Axel and Bobby. Plus, while cinematographer Eduard Grau recaptures the spirit of Brest and Scott’s iterations, especially within the big action sequences, he can’t quite manage to make those visuals stand out, more than likely hampered by digital camera restrictions than due to skill.

Despite some of its lowlights, BEVERLY HILLS COP: AXEL F is a terrific throwback, exorcising the homophobia (no crass stereotypes and jokes about STDs) and misogyny (no strip clubs and leering male gaze) of its eighties-era predecessors, and instead relying on solid comedy and good action to drive a fun, entertaining tale.

Grade: 4 out of 5

BEVERLY HILLS COP: AXEL F begins streaming on Netflix on July 3.