REVIEW: Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F [2024]

Rating: R | Runtime: 118 minutes
Release Date: July 3rd, 2024 (USA)
Studio: Netflix
Director(s): Mark Molloy
Writer(s): Will Beall and Tom Gormican & Kevin Etten / Will Beall (story) / Danilo Bach and Daniel Petrie Jr. (characters)

You look like you sell iPhone cases to teenagers at the mall.

I know cinematic rights issues are a pain, but I’m going to believe that Netflix intentionally decided to not let Beverly Hills Cop III onto its platform despite having the original and Part II ready to stream in the lead-up to the long-awaited Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F. I love thinking that even they knew having a turkey like that playable for their audience would actually make people want to watch the latest installment less than they might already considering the tenuous reception of “remakes and re-quels” these days. Don’t chance giving them that bad taste even if lower expectations can sometimes prove a successful marketing ploy.

I did watch it, though. I had never seen either sequel before, so I figured I would do my due diligence before diving into Mark Molly and screenwriter Will Beall’s rejuvenation (Beall shares writing credit with Tom Gormican and Kevin Etten, but maintains sole “story” credit). Did it leave a bad taste in my mouth? Sure. So did the fact Eddie Murphy let John Landis direct it despite knowing about and verbally calling out, on-the-record, his complicity in the Twilight Zone: The Movie deaths. He also very publicly stated post-Part II that him acting in a Part III would only ever mean one thing: he needed the money.

That’s not the case this time. Murphy has had a bit of a renaissance on streamers with the likes of Dolemite Is My Name (Netflix) and Coming 2 America (Prime), so money isn’t an issue. No, this one seems personal with him saying that he wanted to make-up for Part III being so bad. It took a while. Many writers, plot lines, and directors too, but he’s finally back in his Detroit Lions jacket to fly cross-country and help out a friend. Because Axel Foley (Murphy) would have ditched Jeffrey (Paul Reiser) in the Motor City to save Billy Rosewood (Judge Reinhold) on his own if needed. He just also had some added incentive upon discovering his estranged daughter (Taylour Paige’s Jane) was in danger too.

Similarities abound where this one concerns the first film—straight down to an almost complete recreation of the soundtrack—but connecting the crime from its cold open to the story’s central case isn’t one of them. No, this crime is all Beverly Hills homicide with a cop in the ground and a cartel member behind bars. Except Billy doesn’t think the kid is guilty. He believes it’s all a set-up and calls Jane (a California defense attorney) to defend him. Accepting the case ultimately puts her in the bad guys’ crosshairs and gets Billy kidnapped. Luckily, Axel is already on his way to cause a ruckus before getting himself arrested minutes after landing.

90210’s wealthy police department has evolved yet again with after so many decades passed—except for Taggart (John Ashton) returning post-retirement in Part III. Captain Grant (Kevin Bacon) is all fancy suits and Detective Abbott (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) is all fancy words. It’s a new world order that Axel surely won’t abide by en route to saving the day after ruining a few along the way. There’s a case to crack, a friend to find, and a daughter with whom to reconnect. And the first two points are easy by comparison since the third is thankfully written in a believably complex manner that refuses to exonerate Axel for being a bad dad.

His and Jane’s dynamic isn’t merely a means for added and authentic drama, though. It’s also the main catalyst for most of the best comedy. Finally, someone is quick enough and witty enough to make Axel shut-up. The tables have turned and he doesn’t simply raise his defenses to retaliate. He considers her words and acknowledges his flaws to at least earn the chance for forgiveness if she’s willing to provide it (although the help from Abbott, who just happens to have had similar parental issues, proves a bit much). It helps that they also work well together when conning unsuspecting marks along the evidence trail.

Serge (Bronson Pinchot) is back for a brief cameo (and GTFO catch phrase), but the majority of callbacks are story beats for mimicking and subversion so the final film can be as much an effective re-quel as it is a worthy sequel. The action scenes are fun with a ton of property damage (thanks in part to off-the-wall vehicles like a snowplow, meter maid cart, and helicopter). The Detroit Red Wings and Vegas Golden Knights get screen time at Little Caesars Arena, Maureen Taggart finally makes an appearance, and Reinhold and Ashton get to take it easy while Gordon-Levitt runs around (although Murphy and Bacon keep up with him despite not being much younger than those stalwarts).

Is it a cable movie relegated to a streamer for rainy night enjoyment? Yes. So too is the rest of the franchise in 2024. Martin Brest and Tony Scott’s entries made money on the big screen and had big screen productions in the 1980s, but I don’t think anyone expected Axel F to somehow scale up accordingly to look like Mission: Impossible. Molloy, Murphy, and the rest of them knew what this was and accomplished what they set out to do. They brought the character into the 2020s, supplied him a worthy verbal combatant in Paige’s scene-stealing Jane, and crafted a sufficiently tense (if tired with the whole “cops get no respect so they must take it by going dirty” sentiments) crime to foil. That’s honestly all we needed.