'Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F' review: Playing the hits, one more time
The heat is back on in "Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F," the fourth installment in the "Beverly Hills Cop" franchise and the first in 30 years, which essentially works as an audience-friendly remake of the 1984 original.
"Axel F" brings back the characters, songs and story beats of the first film, which made Eddie Murphy a box office star and pioneered the action comedy genre. The new film doesn't do anything revolutionary but it gets by on its familiarity, like seeing an old friend and reminiscing about the old days over a couple of beers.
Murphy is back cracking wise as Detroit cop Axel Foley, still sporting around town in his Lions varsity coat, which has wisely been updated this time around. The opening sequence is a heist during a Detroit Red Wings game at Little Caesars Arena, which leads to a chase through the downtown streets, and some familiar sights for locals.
But this is "Beverly Hills Cop," which means Axel's not staying in Detroit for long. He's drawn to California to protect his estranged daughter Jane (Taylour Paige), an attorney whose latest case has her being threatened by a group of dangerous men. Axel reunites with Jane and teams up with LAPD detective Bobby Abbott (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), who's also Jane's ex-boyfriend, to take down the bad guys and make a few jokes along the way.
Fortunately, there are some decent jokes in the mix. The screenplay places Foley in recognizable situations where he can call on his wit to get him out of tight jams, and it reunites him with friendly faces such as Taggert (John Ashton), Rosewood (Judge Reinhold) and Serge (Bronson Pinchot), essentially getting the old gang back together for one last jam session. Kevin Bacon gets to ham it up as crooked cop Cade Grant, a Rolex-wearing, mojito-drinking jerkbag who feels he's entitled to a little corruption because of the way he feels police are underpaid for their services.
The R-rated feature — 1994's dismal "Beverly Hills Cop III" was PG-13, which was just one of its many problems — lets the F-bombs fly and makes Foley feel at home again. At 63, Murphy still has motormouth energy, and he easily slips back into Foley's rhythms and cadences. Director Mark Molloy, in his feature film debut, sets the table and lets the cast do their thing, a low-stakes reunion that puts a bow on the series without doing too much heavy lifting.
We're of course in an era where we simply refuse to let go of the past and we squeeze every last drop out of everything we once enjoyed, and there's no sane reason we should have both new "Ghostbusters" and "Beverly Hills Cop" movies in 2024. Given that, "Axel F" has fun with its past, updates the story for the present and sends its characters off in style. Consider it a fitting retirement party for Foley.
