The Film Buffa Reviews: Does 'Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F' match the hype?
Eddie Murphy and company all return for a Netflix sequel that strikes the right tone.
The thing about nostalgia is that you have to get the dosage right. Too much and the ingredients overpower the consumer, but finding the right balance between comfortable familiarity and a new wave of energy creates a fun time for all. A sequel is made mostly for nostalgia purposes, more so than really advancing stories that don’t really go anywhere.
The plot behind Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F is simple enough. The Detroit cop is busy making his own noise back home when a bunch of bad guys out west stir some shit up, and it involves his daughter, Jane. She’s taking the fight to local criminals, which leads to a group of them sending her car off the top of a parking garage… hanging by a cable. If that’s not enough to get a dad with a badge out to help, nothing is.
The good thing is Eddie Murphy wears the role like he wears that trademark coat, with the ease of a veteran funnyman who knows how to steer an action comedy. John Ashton, Judge Reinhold, and Paul Reiser all return to their respective roles from the first three films (1984, 1987, 1994). Kevin Bacon plays a nefarious character who can be seen from a mile away yet still exudes that evil Bacony goodness.
The theme song gets a few different remixes and presentations, the comedy zingers aren’t ALL about being old and doesn’t include nauseating black/white stereotype jokes. The screenplay doesn’t really travel far after the initial setup, but an 80s tune doesn’t need a complex, Nolan-infused four-layer plot. Just spin the hits, make some of it fresh, and don’t leave us scratching our heads wondering if it was better than Part 2.
The good news is I can’t even remember B.H.C. 3, and this new edition is a good time. It does exactly what the trailer, posters, and overall hype promised, and that covers us in 1980s movie glitter. From the mostly practical stunt work to the way each scene bled into the other and the rapport of the cast, director Mark Molloy did a fine job of not fucking it all up.
Will you run back and watch it again and again? Possibly, because it’s the movie equivalent of a well-made cheeseburger that you buy right off the beach with a bottle of beer. You walk down the shore or beach walk, eating and drinking up the familiar yet tasty goods. Hours later, you may recall a funny line or two and laugh. Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F plays at speed, bringing you back to an era of film that doesn’t get out of the Hollywood box that often.
No, we don’t need another one! Ashton looks wearier than ever, and gets away with the one “old” joke in the movie. He’s pinned down by gunfire and tells Reinhold’s Billy after an attempt to fire back, “I don’t think I can get back up.”
Yes, I did enjoy seeing Murphy, who has been sort of lost over the past 10-15 or 25 years outside of a fantastic film (also Netflix-issued) called Dolemite Is My Name. Seeing him run around, zing fellow cops, scream at bad guys, become the dad Axel couldn’t be in the 90s and all the other hijinks reminds you that he once ruled the genre crossover roost. Does the rawness seep out of his dialogue on occasion? Yes, but it’s a family friendly affair outside of the profanity.
Is it generic in parts? Oh yeah. From the villain spot in his entry scene to the car chases to the end result of the perfect hero gunshot wound, it checks the boxes. Then again, I think it was on purpose. This isn’t a case where the filmmakers made one movie, and the audience watched another.
Beverly Hills Cops: Axel F is a nostalgia train that gets the measurement right, even adding one of the best cinema sidekick cops ever in Joseph Gordon-Levitt. Whether it’s helping Jamie Foxx in Project Power or Batman himself in Dark Knight Rises, the man knows how to assist the hero. Is there the tiresome subplot where he’s the ex of Foley’s daughter? Yes. There’s a helicopter sequence with Murphy and Gordon-Levitt that is hilarious and the highlight of the film.
“You’re an elite pilot, damn it. Fly this thing.”
“No, I’m not elite anymore, that’s why I said it was a bad idea.”
The only complaint is that I didn’t get enough time with Murphy, Ashton, and Reinhold being together as a bickering unit of law enforcement. There was a scene, but I wanted more. Otherwise, it’s a good flick. It hits the spot. After that burger and beer bottle are tossed, you won’t be mad about where the last couple hours went.
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