Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F Movie Review

Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F (2024)

Watch Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F on Netflix
Written by: Will Beall and Tom Gormican & Kevin Etten (screenplay by), Will Beall (story by), Danilo Bach and Daniel Petrie Jr. (based on characters created by)
Directed by: Mark Molloy
Starring: Eddie Murphy, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Taylour Paige, Kevin Bacon, Judge Reinhold, John Ashton, Bronson Pinchot, Mark Pellegrino, Paul Reiser
Rated: R
Watch the trailer

Plot
Axel Foley returns to Beverly Hills after his daughter's life is threatened, teaming up with old pals John Taggart and Billy Rosewood to uncover a conspiracy.

Verdict
The basis is a tried and true formula for cop movies, but Eddie Murphy injects this with just enough energy to prevent it from feeling completely stale. Thankfully this isn't a shoddy sequel trading only on name recognition There's plenty of comedy and action alike as this bridges the gap from the original movies to feel like a modern action movie. That's also why this doesn't feel fresh. The plot for this movie has been done many times before.
It depends.

Review
This debuts forty years after the original Beverly Hills Cop, and thirty years after the most recent sequel. A fourth movie had been discussed since the mid-nineties with a number of scripts and even talks of a television series. Upon the announcement, this movie seemed like it was trading solely on name recognition, especially after Murphy's sequel Coming 2 America a few years ago, but I was surprised at the quality of the cast.

Taylour Paige, Eddie Muprhy play Jane Saunders, Axel Foley

This has a fun start with Axel Foley (Eddie Murphy) wreaking havoc in Detroit while pursuing a group of thieves. It's big action and a lot of Murphy cracking wise. It's a primer for the movie and for the character Axel. From there Axel heads to Los Angeles when his lawyer daughter Jane Saunders (Taylour Paige) is attacked and intimidated due to a new case. They don't have a great relationship, and she didn't ask him to come.

The fun parts of this movie are when Axel tries to extract information or get into a restricted area. His ad libs and deceptions never fail to entertain. When he's apprehended by Detective Abbott (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), he's told his old tricks won't work in the modern day. Axel can't insult Abbott's manhood in an attempt to get him angry. The movie tells us it's self aware without doing much to prove it.

Kevin Bacon, Eddie Murphy play Captain Grant, Axel Foley

The friction between Axel and Jane is apparent, but they agree to team up for the sake of her case which certainly has ties to a larger conspiracy. Captain Grant (Kevin Bacon) seems suspicious, and the movie isn't subtle about it. It's too easy to guess he's the villain. The only thing missing is a mustache to twirl. His motives are pure greed. It's so dull and tired without trying to make the character interesting. Then again this movie isn't much more than a vehicle for Eddie Murphy.

It feels like a modern '80s movie with a lot of gunfire and very little contact. The bad guys can't hit a thing. Most of this movie is Murphy chewing the scenery. That is the best parts of the movie. His energy makes a standard cop movie something a little more entertaining.