Review: "Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F"

“Trust me,” are the last two words spoken by Eddie Murphy at the end of the first Beverly Hills Cop. Released on December 5th, 1984, it ended with his trademark mischievous grin, as his buddies Sgt. John Taggart and Detective Billy Rosewood are tailing him to the Beverly Hills city limits. The first film of this series was a critical and commercial success, and two sequels followed, Beverly Hills Cop II in 1987 and Beverly Hills Cop III in 1994. 40 on, Netflix has released the fourth installment, Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F, on July, 3rd, 2024. Here are my thoughts:

Axel Foley has been summoned to return to Beverly Hills when the life of his estranged daughter, Jane Saunders has been threatened due to her work as a lawyer. In doing so, he reunites with old pals Chief John Taggart and Billy Rosewood, and together they discover the mystery behind Jane’s predicament—and it’s bigger than they could have imagined. As Axel struggles to uncover everything, he makes new friends and enemies along the way.

Eddie Murphy continues to make audiences laugh after a nearly 50-year-career in show business. He has created many indelible characters, from Axel Foley in the Beverly Hills Cop Franchise (1984-2024), to voicing Mushu in Disney’s original Mulan (1998) and Donkey in Dreamworks’ Shrek Franchise (2001-2010), to all the members of the Klump family in his remake of The Nutty Professor (1996) and it’s sequel, Nutty Professor II: The Klumps (2000). He’s also been very good in roles that aren’t so funny, having gotten an Oscar Nomination for his Supporting Performance as James (Jimmy) “Thunder” Early in Dreamgirls (2006). There’s no denying that Axel Foley is one of Murphy’s most endearing characters. Outwardly he appears as a rude, roguish rebel of a police officer who lives in his own world most of the time. But he’s lovable—we can tell on the inside he’s a bighearted man who cares deeply for the well-being of his friends. This sequel movie underscores that description, though slightly differently. It’s the first time we see Axel Foley as a parent.

In addition to the return of Eddie Murphy as Axel Foley, “Axel F,” also sees the return of John Ashton and Judge Reinhold as Axel’s pals Chief John Taggart and Billy Rosewood, as well as Paul Reiser as Deputy Chief Jeffrey Friedman and Bronson Pinchot as “Serge,” both of whom also provided laughs in the previous films. Jerry Bruckheimer, who co-produced the first two “Beverly Hills Cop,” films (though not the third) with Don Simpson, returns as producer. The film is directed by Mark Molloy who makes his feature film debut. Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Kevin Bacon star as new characters Detective Bobby Abbott and Captain Cade Grant. The film’s music was composed by Lorne Balfe, who also composed the music for this year’s Bad Boys: Ride or Die (2024) as well as Top Gun: Maverick (2022) and last year’s Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning Part 1 (2023). (Clearly he’s good at composing music for reboot films!)

Eddie Murphy made it abundantly clear in an interview in The New York Times Magazine that he dislikes being challenged career-wise, but simply prefers to do things he knows would work. The interviewer asked him why, to which he replied “Because first and foremost I’m trying to be funny for my audience. You want to do stuff that you know is going to be funny for them.” “Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F,” is a funny film for all fans of the series to appreciate, and they can also appreciate Eddie Murphy personally. And…the fifth “Beverly Hills Cop,” film is also in development!