Just like Top Gun came back after a long hiatus with its hero in the title, Beverly Hills Cop is back on the beat for a fourth entry, with most of Axel Foley’s name in the title. It a really odd and uncomfortable choice, and headed into this, I wasn’t sure that Netflix would be able to pull this off. Mark Malloy? A feature directorial debut? On this? This film had all the makings of another hot trash Netflix title that just gets put out to appease algorithms.
After all, CBS has a quite high profile pilot for a TV version of this show that actually featured Eddie Murphy in a recurring role, with Brandon T Jackson set to be the newer younger Foley. They didn’t want it. And that’s a network that greenlit a True Lies series. No one else wanted it either, at the same time the Bad Boys spinoff series LA’s Finest was rescued after initially not being given a series order. Basically, everyone assumed this was dead. Then, Murphy revived his Coming To America character with a rather unfortunate sequel, and suddenly this is in play again?
I even prepared myself by watching all three films already in the franchise. All three are on Paramount Plus with audio description, and the first is on Netflix with audio description as well. Considering the third is the worst, this had zero shot. no chance.
I liked it.
Plot twist. I was entertained by a film that had a lot of fun, rejected the idea that Axel’s child should be someone like Brandon T Jackson trying to mimic the original performance, and instead went with Zola star Taylor Page. Great casting. She’s a solid actress. The plot is simple, with Axel going out to LA after Billy (a much older Judge Reinhold) calls him to let him know someone went after his daughter, who is trying to exonerate someone in jail for a crime they didn’t commit. Dad and daughter are very estranged, but no one messes with family. He heads back, where Taggert (John Ashton) is running everything, to also find that Billy is now missing, and there’s a very obvious villain. Kevin Bacon. the film doesn’t hide it. Axel calls him out to the audience almost immediately after meeting him. Plus, he’s a huge name to be a ssmall character. Also, along for the ride is a young cop (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) who is also invested in this.
there are big action sequences, and for the most part I thought Murphy really did what he needed to. It is backed by a soundtrack very reminiscent of the original, and isn’t updated. It’s not an Oscar movie like Top Gun, but it is an entertaining popcorn sequel and one of the better things Netflix has made this year.
I wish Reinhold had done more. He’s not in it much, and he’s not that old. He’s younger than John Ashton, who is in more scenes, and I don’t know why he had to sit out most of the film. Also, it is a bold move to run with a villain we know from the beginning, but it allows Bacon to come into the role with unchecked power and entitlement, making for a memorable villain that many films struggle to have.
I do think that there will be, and have been detractors, but some films are fun. This film succeeded mostly in what it achieved to do, and I came into it expecting the worst. The audio description, by international digital Center is also excellent. I love that Thomas Reed was chosen to narrate this, and Dakota Green wrote a great script for him to read. There are several high octane action sequences and shootouts that would be so hard to follow if there was no audio description. Reed’s voice is perfect on this, with his deep baritone setting us up for the action to come, and I love and support intentional casting.
I might have made a few different choices. there is a scene that doesn’t need to exist, but it also features the most hilarious supporting character in a real estate agent who hates her four year old. Murphy made me smile, but the stuff they wrote for her got me to laugh out loud, alone, in my house.
I liked it. It’s equal to the second for me, which I know some people don’t like, but I do. Below, all four films are graded, since I marathoned this leading up to the initial release of this. I’m genuinely shocked I liked this, and I would watch it again.
Final Grade:
Beverly Hills cop: Axel F- A-
Beverly Hills Cop 3- B-
Beverly Hills cop II- A-
Beverly Hills Cop- A
