Movies News Talk
Eddie Murphy may enjoy the first sequel of Beverly Hills Cop now, but his first assessment wasn't nearly so positive. Murphy's ascent to fame throughout the 1980s was explosive, moving from Saturday Night Live to fronting classics like 48 HRS and Trading Places fast. Of course, his most obvious claim to glory is the Beverly Hills Cop flicks. Using a blend of smarts and a natural knack to improvise his way out of problems, Murphy's Detroit detective Axel Foley investigated different crimes in Beverly Hills in the first three installments.
Apart from a failed Beverly Hills Cop TV pilot that never aired a series, the property has stayed basically dormant for thirty years. With Murphy making a guest appearance, this would have followed Axel's son Aaron (Brandon T. Jackson) on his own mishaps in Beverly Hills. Though a fourth movie spent years in production hell, fortunately early news on Netflix's forthcoming Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F has been quite good and is expected to be a return to form for the franchise.
Axel F might out to be the most praised of the successors, a distinction that once went to Beverly Hills Cop 2. Late, great Tony Scott (Top Gun) handled the 1987 follow-up, energizing the action and wild humor. When it's a hangout movie amongst Axel, Rosewood (Judge Reinhold), and Taggart (John Aston), it's a great romp. Murphy said in a recent Late Night with Seth Meyers interview that "the first two Beverly Hills Cops are really good." The sequel was another smash for its leading guy.
This runs counter to a 1989 interview Murphy conducted for Rolling Stone in which he was virtually completely honest about his career up to that time. Murphy agreed with evaluations of Beverly Hills Cop 2's quality and mixed reception when asked about worries he shouldn't have repeated his star-making role as Axel. Murphy then called his fantasy comedy The Golden Child a "piece of s***" that nonetheless made a lot of money. Murphy was such a big star in the 1980s that his participation in any film was practically assured to make it a smash. While Murphy felt the sequel merely copied or pasted the premise of the original without adding much in the way of invention, developing Beverly Hills Cop 2 seemed to be a no-brainer commercially.
Murphy calling Beverly Hills Cop 2 as "really good" is a definite flip-around. Though Tony Scott gave his sequel more breadth, the initial movie is shockingly small-scale and grounded by current standards. He gave his main guy every chance to develop crazy comic scenarios and lavished it with chic images. Storywise, Beverly Hills Cop 2 makes little logic; to the extent that a visit to the Playboy Mansion and a Hugh Hefner cameo is oddly sandwiched into the second act.
It's loud and too strong; one may even consider it as a relic from another age. Still, Beverly Hills Cop 2 is a blast with the appropriate approach. Few directors make their films as fashionable as Scott could; the chemistry between the three leads is sizzling, Brigitte Nielsen creates an unforgettable villainess, and the sequel even featured Axel's cherished Detroit Lions jacket. Though the good exceeds the bad, it is a reworking of the original that essentially plays Axel's debut's biggest hits.
Eddie Murphy's disdain of the third film guaranteed Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F spent so long in development hell since the star refused to sign up for another sequel without a strong story.
Murphy had plenty of time to warm to Beverly Hills Cop 2 over 30 years ago since he made his "mediocre" remarks about it. Given Beverly Hills Cop 3's response, a movie Murphy dubbed "atrocious" during an Inside the Actor's Studio visit, he could be more gentle about the first sequel now. Beverly Hills Cop 4 lasted so long in development hell because the celebrity refused to sign on for another sequel without a strong script, therefore ensuring his disdain of the third chapter. Perhaps Murphy's yearning for the first two Beverly Hills Cops helps to explain his comeback for Axel F. He owes a lot to Axel Foley, after all, and the second journey almost as much as the first one has permeated popular culture. Fans of the 1987 sequel have most certainly showered the star with affection. Murphy is even open to a possible Beverly Hills Cop 5 now, although should that come to pass, hopefully it won't require another thirty years of development.
Eddie Murphy plays Detroit officer Axel Foley in the action-comedy series Beverly Hills officer, who sets off to look into the death of his closest buddy in Beverly Hills, California. Constantly watched and occasionally reigned in under the direction of Billy Rosewood and John Taggart, two other detectives from his department, Foley is a streetwise and aggressive officer. Currently under development and slated for Netflix launch is a fourth movie called Beverly Hills Cop: Axel Foley.
For decades viewers have delighted in the popular Beverly Hills Cop franchise. Eddie Murphy's performance as Axel Foley is legendary, and the movies have come to represent over-the-top action, clever humor, and enduring quotable lines. Though some of the sequelues of the Beverly Hills Cop movies have been more successful than others, the franchise has experienced ups and downs; this is evidence of its continuing appeal. Fans who are keen to witness Eddie Murphy perform his legendary part will surely get excited about the forthcoming premiere of Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F.